


Life is Strange: Waking Nightmare

by fragileKnight1



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombies, F/F, horror and fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-24 23:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22086349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fragileKnight1/pseuds/fragileKnight1
Summary: In this world Max and Chloe meet for the first time after the world falls apart. Chloe is looting the store that Max decides to hide and is gearing up in the most hardcore punk outfit she can find because Punk Culture is now survival culture, and Max decides that this wicked criminal is the one person she can trust to get them through this.Chloe has a plan after all and that is to return to the town she ran away from three years before, Arcadia Bay, and then take a fishing boat up to Alaska if the town isn’t safe.Will they make it there or will they fall prey to forces far more evil than the corpses that now rule the forests and highways?
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Comments: 24
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

Max pressed herself against the car and held her breath as the rabids shuffled around on the other side. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew that if she didn't get moving she was going to die, or worse, so she quickly made her way into the closest building and was about to head out the back when she heard the door slam shut. She turned around slowly to face down a tall, thin girl who looked to be no more than eighteen with dark blue hair and tattoos covering her right arm.

The girl had an angry scowl on her face and was carrying a baseball bat that was already stained dark by blood and Max felt her legs go weak with fear as she said, "I-I am sorry. I didn't know anyone was hiding in here."

"Hiding? I'm not hiding. I looting this shit hole for anything useful." The girl walked over to a counter that had a bunch of punk jackets on it and picked up one that had large spikes going down the arms, "Punk culture is now survival culture. We are looking down the barrel of a Romero-esque apocalypse and I for one am going to see it to the end."

Max nodded weakly as she watched the girl walk around the room, "I'm Max. Max Caulfield, and I am a photographer."

"Cute but now is not the time to be taking pictures of pretty birds and sad people." The girl picked up a pair of steel toed boots and some thermal socks. "And I am Chloe Price. If you want to survive you should follow my lead and grab some of this stuff."

"Isn't stealing illegal though?" Max rubbed her arm nervously, "What if the police catch you?"

"Do you see any police?" Chloe laughed, "The world has gone hella crazy Max and you should too. I mean this stuff might not do much now, but once the initial adrenaline surge wears off and these munchers become regular old zombos this stuff will save me from having to put a bullet in your brain."

"Does that really work?" Max nervously picked up a blue jacket that was similar to the one Chloe picked up and put it on. "I thought that kind of stuff only worked in the movies."

"Oh it works." Chloe stripped out of her pants and slipped on a pair of denim cargo pants with more pockets than necessary, "You probably think they are normal still, and they do look it but I have seen cops go full brutality on them and have them keep getting back up. I have also seen them shatter their legs and break their arms to get through doors so we should get moving."

Max nodded and decided to follow Chloe since she seemed like she knew what she was doing. "My parents and I live on the fifth floor of an apartment building a few blocks from here. Do you think we can head there to use the place as a base of operations?"

"Hmmm...That is heading away from the hospital, but I think it we should just forget about them and get out of town."

"It will be getting dark soon though and it might be harder to see the rabids then." Max smiled, "Plus where would we go after we leave town?"

"I was thinking of heading back home to Arcadia Bay." Chloe pushed open the door to the back alley and motioned for Max to go ahead of her. "I ran away from that place and hoped to never go back but it could be a safe place from all of this for a little while. It also has a lot of fishing boats that might come in handy if we need to make a quick escape."

"So we go back to my parents’ apartment convince them to come with us and in the morning we all leave together." Max smiled when Chloe nodded in agreement. "Thank you for listening to me."

"It’s a sound plan, Maximillian." Chloe smirked and took ahold of Max's hand to force her to run faster. "To a certain point the number of people in a group can increase the survivability of all its members."

"You must have watched and read every piece of zombie fiction ever created." Max froze as a large group of rabids stopped in the road and held her breath until they went the other way. "I guess that is a good thing though."

"I am more of a Blade Runner kind of girl more than a Night of the Living Dead girl, but have seen my fair share of zombie stuff." Chloe pointed to a rabid peeling the skin off its face just to shatter a large glass window and said, "This virus not only brings people back from the dead but while they are still alive and for some time after it increases their body's adrenaline and shuts down the brains pain receptors. It’s like a mother rescuing her baby while also doped up on steroids and PCP."

"Let's get off the streets then."

Max led Chloe the rest of the way to her parents’ apartment and quickly made her way up to the fifth floor using the stairs since the elevator was broken. She opened the door expecting her mom and dad to sweep her into a hug but instead she found the place empty. She wasn't worried until they got to the kitchen and she found a note saying that they had to run a neighbor to the hospital after he was mugged in the hallway. A thousand images immediately swarmed her and she couldn't hold back her tears any longer. By letting this one thing get to her the entire damn burst and she fell to the floor weeping.

To her surprise Chloe sat down beside her and pulled her into her arms until she cried herself out. She looked up at Chloe and said, "They are dead aren't they?"

"I can't answer that." Chloe stood and started to barricade the front door. "The police have done their best to set up a quarantine zone around the hospital and the city morgue, but there is no telling how long that will last or how many people they will be able to get out of there."

Max stood and started to help Chloe fill the hallway leading from the front door with furniture, "Is this going to help at all?"

"It will slow them down if they come up this..." Chloe looked up as the lights went off and nodded, "And there goes the power grid. To be honest I expected that to last longer."

"My parents keep candles and matches above the sink." Max walked back into the kitchen and pulled down the emergency supplies and paused when she found a black plastic box as well. It was locked with a small padlock but she brought it along with the other supplies back into the living room. "What do you think this is?"

"That is a gun box." Chloe shoved the lamp off the table and set up three candles before lighting them. "Your parents were packing heat."

"That can't be." Max looked the box over. "My dad hated guns and was for banning them altogether."

"I know what a gun box is Max." Chloe took the box and used a screwdriver from the emergency supplies box to break the lock. She opened it up and frowned, "Well shit it is just a flare gun. Why did your parents have a flare gun?"

"I don't know." Max took the box and looked at the bright orange gun, "Still might come in handy."

"It might, but not as much as a real gun would have." Chloe leaned back on the couch, "So let's take our mind off the end of the world for a moment and get to know each other better. What kind of photos do you take Max?"

"Landscapes and people mostly." Max sat down on the floor next to the couch since they pushed the other chair into the hallway, "I was hoping to get a scholarship for my pictures and then get a gallery to buy some."

"Pretty nice dream. I bet your photos are amazing." Chloe rolled over to face Max. "Do have any that you want to show me?"

"Not at the moment." Max smiled, "I am always nervous about letting people see my work, but I am working overcoming that habit."

"Very nice."

"So what did you do before this?"

"I hopped from job to job while trying and failing to stay out of trouble." Chloe laughed, "I was being processed at the police station for vandalism and drug possession when chaos broke out and I took my chance to get out of there."

"You are lying." Max laughed, "I mean you look pretty badass but there is no way you are that bad."

"I am though, and it seems you have little bit of a bad side to you as well." Chloe smiled, "I managed to convince you to take that jacket didn't I?"

Max looked at the coat she was wearing and took it off when she remembered she had stolen it. "Well you might be right about it keeping me from getting hurt."

"Now you just need a weapon that fits your personality." Chloe looked over at her baseball bat, "I was arrested with that beauty and they left it just lying on a desk in the open thankfully. It saved my life actually when a muncher came running at me, but I felt bad because the guy was in handcuffs. Not really a fair fight at all."

"These rabids..."

"You mean munchers." Chloe laughed and smirked, "I guess calling them rabids is accurate but it just sounds funny."

"These munchers aren't really people anymore are they?" Max sighed, "That means if my parents did get turned then I..."

"Don't think about that." Chloe rubbed her hand through Max's hair, "Where were you when this all happened?"

"I was at the park taking some shots of the statues there and I saw a guy beat another guy to death with a brick."

"That would have been pretty fucked up to see," Chloe rolled onto her back, "but you survived and you will continue to survive as well."

"I am glad I met you, Chloe."

"Yeah same, Mad Max."

**\------**

Max was awoken the next morning by the smell of eggs frying and said, "Mom?"

"No, sorry, Maximus Prime." Chloe came into the living room with a platter of fried eggs and couple of plates, "The fridge was starting to get warm and I figured we should go ahead and stuff ourselves before it all goes bad."

Max took a couple of the eggs and poked the yoke with her fork when she saw that they were red for some reason, "What is on these?"

"Cayenne Pepper and Texas Pete." Chloe started on her first egg, "If you put it on when you first cook the eggs it turns the whites red. These babies are not only delicious but if you are hungover they will snap you right out of it."

Max took a tentative bite of the egg and tried not to cry as it burned her mouth. She swallowed it and kept going despite the pain so that Chloe wouldn't think she was weak but couldn't stop her eyes from tearing up as she said, "These are really good."

"They are too spicy for you aren't they." Chloe stopped eating, "Sorry I should have made some plain ones as well."

"It’s alright," Max finished her first egg and started on the second, "I am getting used to the burn."

"I'll remember to not go to wild with the spice the next time I cook for you." Chloe started on her next egg. "So once we get done here we need to head back out, but there is even more munchers today than there were yesterday and no sign of the military so if we are going to get out we will need to find a car. I had a truck but the police booted it before I was arrested."

"Ms. Gertrude in Five C is an eighty year old retiree who was just placed in a home by her family. She had one of those behemoth cars from the seventies and it was still parked in its spot last night. I think the keys are in her kitchen."

"I know those cars." Chloe ate another egg, "I used to fix them up when I still had my job at Kalley's Automart. If we can't find the keys I can hotwire it."

Max finished her third egg and decided to get herself ready while Chloe ate. First she found the notebook her parents had used to write their note and wrote them one telling them where she was going and who she was going with, and then she found one of her mom's canvas shopping bags and loaded it down with a bunch of canned goods. "Besides food what else should we take with us?"

"Knives, tools, and medicine." Chloe stood after finishing off her fifth egg. "If we have time we should check all of the apartments on this floor to see if they have anything useful."

Max nodded and ran back to her room to pack up her satchel with her camera equipment and photo journals before going back to the living to help Chloe unblock the hallway so that they could move onto the next apartment.

Ms. Gertrude's place was partially packed up, but the family hadn't bothered with the kitchen yet so they were able to find not only the keys but lots of homemade preserves and pickles to add to the can goods they had already gathered.

After Chloe finished gathering all of the medicine from Ms. Gertrude's bathroom they did a quick sweep of the other apartments on the floor and were able to load both the trunk and the backseat of the Plymouth down with supplies before finally driving away.

The city was in a state of complete chaos. Most of the streets were completely blocked and the freeway was a complete loss, but Chloe knew her way around the side streets and they got out of the city with only a little trouble.

The country side seemed safer but there were still munchers roaming the hills and forests, a sign of the growing threat that would be coming as more and more of the infected wandered out of Seattle in search of food.

If Chloe was right about Arcadia Bay being safe it was obvious it wouldn't stay that way. Max looked at Chloe and said, "So do you know how to pilot a boat?"

"No, but I can learn." Chloe turned on the radio so that they could listen to the emergency broadcasts, "This is all a lot worse than I thought it would. Where is the military? In the movies and comics the military would have set up special zones by now, but all we got is the police and they are failing."

"I wonder what caused this." Max looked out her window at the trees, "Do you think it was a virus or something else?"

"Something else?" Chloe frowned, "It has been building for a couple weeks now, but the CDC was just playing it down to keep panic to a minimum. Panic can often be worse than the disease itself, but that blew back in their faces this time."

"You know a lot about this." Max smiled, "I still can't believe you are a criminal. You are more like a punk rocker science nerd."

"I can be many things, Maximum Overdrive." Chloe laughed, "I was a science nerd before my dad passed, but after he was gone everything fell apart. My mom married an abusive douche who thought I needed military discipline to stay on the straight and narrow. She stopped caring about me after that. She saw me as the problem and not the fact she fell for the first guy that flashed her a smile and acted like a gentleman."

"That sucks." Max looked over at Chloe who still seemed indifferent despite the anger in her voice, "If my dad died and my mom married an abusive douche I would have run away as well."

"And now I am going home." Chloe sighed, "The worst thing is that the douche is probably armed to the teeth right now and holed up in his garage bunker. He was certain that the government was going to fuck itself into oblivion and that he needed to be prepared for the worst."

"I-" Max grunted as Chloe slammed on the brakes and causing them both to shoot forward, and rubbed her shoulder as she leaned back into the seat, "What the hell! Why did we stop?"

"Don't you see her?" Chloe got out of the car. "There is a girl up there on that building."

Max got out and walked around to Chloe's side to see what she was talking about and sure enough there was a girl about their edge sitting on the edge of a gothic church's bell tower. "What is she doing?"

"It looks like she is tuning a violin?" Chloe started over to the church and yelled, "What are you doing up there?!"

The girl looked down at them and then slipped back into the bell tower. It took a few minutes but the girl came bursting through front of the church and hugged the both of them before saying, "Sorry, sorry, but I thought...I am Kate. Kate Marsh, and this is my family's parish. My mom and dad are in the back trying to get my grandmother to let us into the greenhouse. You should come in."

"Well we were heading south to Arcadia Bay, and we only stopped because we saw you..." Chloe looked at Max and motioned for Max to join in on the conversation. "And we were worried."

"Why are you so cheerful?" Max crossed her arms, "The world is ending as we speak."

"God will protect those who still hold him in their hearts." Kate pressed her hands to her chest. "Come and meet my family."

"Well, Max Attack, what should we do?" Chloe sighed in defeat, "Should we keep going or should we stop for a moment?"

Max sighed and said, "I guess we can afford to take a short break. Can you move the car out of the road?"

"Will do." Chloe saluted, "And Kate don't you dare try anything with Max. She is taken."

"Taken?" Max blushed, "What are you talking about Chloe?"

Chloe walked away with a smirk and Kate chuckled as she said, "You two are too cute. How long have you known each other?"

"Uh...about twelve hours now." Max started to follow Kate, "We ran to each in Seattle and now we are heading to Arcadia Bay together."

"Do you have family there?"

"Chloe does, but my parents are back in Seattle." Max sighed sadly, "I left a note for them so that they know where I am if they return home, but it was too dangerous for us to stay and wait for them. It is really bad there."

"Well this place is safe." Kate pushed open the doors the church's backyard and waved to her parents as she yelled, "Mom. Dad. We have guests."

Max looked at the iron spike topped walls and then to the beautiful pond with a large waterfall next to very old looking apple tree, "This place looks amazing. It is all too beautiful."

"Well we try." Kate's dad walked over, "This place was falling apart before we came, and it took my entire family to restore this place to its former glory. This coming Sunday was to be our first service, but I see now that God had other plans for us and for this church. Would you like to stay with us?"

"I'm sorry but we are heading to Arcadia Bay." Max looked at Chloe as she walked into the garden, "But if that doesn't work out we would love to come back."

"And our doors will be open to you." Kate said as she walked back over after convincing her grandmother to come out of the greenhouse. "But please stay for the night. I would love to play a song for you, and dad you can play the organ. It might be a small service but we can still come together."

Chloe grimaced and shrugged, "I am not really religious, but I guess staying the night can't hurt. The headlights on that car we...uh...borrowed don't work and I need to fix them."

"I'll help." Max smiled and walked over to Chloe before looking back at Kate and her dad, "And thank you all for your offer. We really appreciate it."

Max stayed close to Chloe as they walked back out to the front of the church. She sat down on the hood of the car and Chloe sat down beside her as she said, "These people are nice Max. To nice if you want my opinion."

"They do seem odd, but I like Kate." Max smiled, "She seems sweet."

"That is what all cultists seem like until they get their claws into you." Chloe laughed, "But I don't think they are that bad and they are definitely secure here if they can get this front area walled off. So want me to show you how to fix a broken headlight?"

"I doubt I will really understand it but I do my best to help." Max jumped up and saw that Kate had moved back to her place in the bell tower. She pulled out her camera to take a picture of her and said, "Perhaps you could also teach me how to drive. I tried to get my license a month ago but I failed it very badly."

"Seriously? What did you?" Chloe smirked and walked to the car's trunk. "I didn't think it was possible to fail those tests."

"I ran over the guy who was supposed to give me the test." Max crossed her arms when Chloe started to laugh and said, "It wasn't my fault. He had bent over to pick up a pen and I didn't realize that the car was in reverse when I took off the parking break."

"I'll just have to make sure that I am in the car when I give you your lesson." Chloe pulled out the tool box and said, "Do you hear that?"

"No. I don't hear anything." Max looked around, "And that is a bad thing isn't it."

"A very bad thing." Chloe dropped the tool box and grabbed her baseball bat out of the backseat as several munchers staggered out of the woods. "Into the church now."

Max nodded and backed into the church as Chloe took out the three munchers that wandered close. She waited for Chloe to get inside and slammed the doors as Kate's family came running into the chapel.

Kate's dad locked the door as the munchers started to slam against it and Chloe pulled one of the back pews over to try and barricade it. Within several minutes the rest of the pews were added to the barricade and Chloe set up a little outpost in front of the doors.

"God will deliver us." Kate sat down beside Max, "This evil will pass as long as we keep our faith in him."

Max nodded and moved over to Chloe. "How are you doing?"

"Stressed out but fine." Chloe tapped her bat against the floor, "Those doors are sturdy enough to repel even the most ferocious assault. You can go and help out Kate's family if you want."

"No, I think I will stay here with you."


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Max and Chloe were helping Kate clean up after the Munchers moved on until Kate's dad came out the church and made Kate go back inside before saying, in a commanding voice, "When are you two planning on leaving?"

"Soon." Chloe stepped closer to Max, "I am sorry about last night, but munchers don't leave you much choice if you don't want to get eaten."

"I know that these...munchers as you call them...are not people anymore." Kate's dad sighed, "My issue is my inability to protect my family. There is a town nearby called Bear Bridge, and if want you to see if you can find us any guns. We don't need many just enough to keep those things at bay."

"We can do that." Chloe nodded, "We will bring back anything that isn't tied down."

Max hopped into the car and looked to Chloe as she climbed in on the driver's side before turning on the radio. The emergency broadcast was finally talking about the military, but it only brought more worry than it did peace.

The guy talking seemed absolutely terrified but held nothing back. Washington D.C had fallen, Air Force One crashed in rural Pennsylvania, and the military was fractured over what the best course of action was with the Air Force and Army choosing to firebomb San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta to try and control the spread of the disease while the Navy had pulled all its forces back into the Pacific.

After a few minutes of listening Chloe put in a mix tape cassette to drown out the horrible things that they had heard and said, "That idiot thinks that the world is going to die just because America has fallen, but America falling is going to barely be more than a ripple on the world stage. That is why the Navy is choosing to retreat."

Max nodded and looked out the window as they drove into Bear Bridge and shook her head at how horrible it looked. The police station was burning and most of the buildings had been looted along with any car parked on the street, but one of the pawn shops hadn’t been looted. The one that was still standing had the shutter pulled down to protect the front entrance and the rear exit had been welded shut.

Chloe smiled and said, "Someone is definitely inside of this building,"

"How do you know that?"'

"Because they are watching us." Chloe waved at a drone as it ducked back down onto the roof and knocked on the welded door, "Hey whoever you are we aren't enemies. We just need a few guns to help arm that church north of town. If you come out you can come back with us because this place isn't as secure as you think it is."

The drone flew down and darted around them before starting to hover as a girl said, "And why should I trust you?"

"Because I have seen what a fresh muncher can do." Chloe looked at Max, "We both know what they can do. We came from Seattle and are now helping who we can as we travel south to Arcadia Bay."

"Come to the front of the store and I'll let you in."

"Thank you." Max waved at the drone as it flew back onto the building’s roof. "She seemed trustworthy but scared."

"Being scared is a smart way to survive right now." Chloe smirked, "What we are doing is strange. You do know that in those who actively go out of their way to help people usually die right?"

"I don't know about that." Max smiled and jogged next to Chloe. "Perhaps the reason that happens in movies is because most of those movies are made by assholes who think that humanity is ultimately doomed."

"I like your optimism, Maxine-"

"Never call me Maxine." Max cut in. "I don't care what other nickname you call me, because I find those adorable, but never call me Maxine."

"Gotcha, Max Power." Chloe nodded, "I shall never say that dreaded name ever again."

When they got back to the front of the store the shutter had been raised and a geeky Asian girl with blue and purple streaks in her hair was waiting for them. She waved and said, "First things first. My name is Brooke, and inside you will find my friend Warren. He is working on some explosives so unless you want to be blown to pieces I'd suggest not messing with him."

"I am digging the hair." Chloe laughed, "Tried to do something like that but I fucked up and decided to just go all blue."

"Thanks..." Brooke looked at Max, "Why don't we continue this inside where we won't attract any attention."

"That would probably be pretty smart." Max nodded and playfully shoved Chloe into the pawn shop. "So is there any other people in town or are you the only ones left?"

"I have seen a lot of people gathering at the elementary school since that place is supposed to double as an emergency shelter, but this place was the most secure place that we saw on our way into town so this is where we set up our base."

Warren came staggering out of the back of the pawn shop while coughing and slammed the door shut as he said, "I wouldn't go in there for a while. I made a mistake while mixing some..."

Max backed away from Warren as he started to smile and took Chloe's hand, "So are you guys going to come back with us to the church?"

"Church?" Warren leaned on the counter as he staggered to his feet. "Are you talking about St. Catherine's Abbey? I thought that place was abandoned."

"I think it was but this nice family has fixed it up and sent us into town to get them some weapons." Max looked to the wall of compound bows and then to the glass counter full of different kind of pistols. "I am sure they will take you guys in without any hesitation."

"No, I let you guys in because you are heading to Arcadia Bay." Brooke crossed her arms, "I want you to take me with you. I got family there and I am only here because Warren dragged me to the drive in here."

"Hey you are the one who said yes." Warren coughed some more. "It’s not my fault I misread the situation when you said you'd go ape with me."

"I thought-"

"Hey, guys, this is getting hella uncomfortable." Chloe cut in, "How about we pack all of this stuff up along with all of the tools and head back to the church? Do you guys still have a car?"

"It’s that trashy Volkswagen in the parking lot." Brooke slipped her drone back into its carrying case and picked up her laptop, "Warren cover your mouth and go get any bombs you did manage to build."

"Yes ma'am, and once again I am really sorry about the whole let's go ape situation."

Max watched Warren dart back into the back room and stepped around the counter to look at the guns. "These things still make me really nervous. Do we really need to bring them back with us?"

"Don't worry Max." Chloe picked up a revolver with a pearl handle. "These things aren't even loaded...Shit! These things aren't even loaded. Do pawn shops carry ammo?"

"This one did." Brooke pulled open a drawer under the counter with a broken lock to reveal hundreds of boxes of ammo. "This place was obviously not entirely above board with its merchandise."

"Sweet." Chloe pulled a rolling cart over and started to load up the bin on it. "Once we get back to the church we will divide this stuff up and keep a couple guns and some ammo for ourselves."

Warren came back from the back, coughing even worse than before, and held up a black duffle bag as he said, "Got the bombs and some components to make some more if we need to."

"Cool." Chloe tossed all of the shotguns and hunting rifles onto the cart. "Let’s get a move on."

Max nodded and stopped to grab a couple of the high end cameras before following Chloe and Brooke outside. Warren came out last and sat down while they loaded his car up and after a few seconds slumped over.

Chloe stopped what she was doing and picked up her baseball bat as she said, "Brooke is your friend alright? What kind of chemicals was he working with back there?"

"I don't know." Brooke started to walk to Warren but Chloe pulled her back. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Give it a few minutes." Chloe looked at Max and motioned for her to take a gun. "It always takes a few minutes for them to turn."

"What?" Brooke tried to pull away from Chloe, "He wasn't bitten or anything so he can't be infected."

"Doesn't matter if you are bitten." Chloe handed her bat to Brooke and picked up some ammo for the revolver. "Everyone who dies will come back if their brain is still functional."

"Are you serious?" Max gripped her chest and shook her head, "That means that there is no..."

"There is always hope Max." Chloe raised the revolver up as Warren started to move again. "As long as you still draw breath there is still hope in this world. Aren't you the one who said that only assholes will start to believe that the world isn't doomed?"

Max nodded as Warren stood and backed up as he vomited blood onto the ground. He then let out a guttural growl and charged at Chloe who fired the pistol but only managed to hit him in the shoulder and send him spiraling back to the ground.

Worse yet the shot drew the attention of other Munchers around them and they started to swarm. Max felt her whole body tense up and grabbed the bat from Brooke as Warren started to stand again and caved the back of his head in.

"We don't die today." Max let out a deep breath and handed the bat back to Chloe as they ran to their car. "Holy shit I think I killed him. Did I just kill him?"

"He was turning and if you hadn't done what you had done then we might have gotten torn apart by him." Chloe tossed the bat into the backseat and barely gave Max anytime to get into the front seat before pulling out with Brooke close behind them. "You were a total badass, Max Damage. A total badass."

**\------**

"I killed him." Brooke fell into Max's hug. "I killed him. If I hadn't sent him back in to get the bombs he had made he would have been fine."

"Or he was already dying." Max looked over to Chloe who was helping Kate's dad organize the guns they brought back. "He was already coughing really badly when he first came out of the back. Thinking about this won't bring any answers though."

"I know. I know." Brooke took a deep breath. "I shouldn't have ever said yes to his invitation. He seemed so sweet and he was...until he decided to go ape on me. He didn't do anything really and he apologized but..."

"It’s alright." Max looked up at Kate as she sat down with a rabbit in her arms and said, "Oh who is that? She looks adorable."

"She is Alice." Kate handed the rabbit to Brooke. "And she loves meeting new people and making sad people feel better."

Brooke rubbed Alice's head softly, "Thank you Kate, and thank you Max. I am going to head back to Arcadia Bay, but I think I will stay here for a little while and help Kate's family set up a security system."

"That sounds like a great plan." Max stood and walked over to Chloe, "Are you head to hit the road once more?"

"We are good to go." Chloe handed Max a small pink pistol, "That one is yours. It is light and holds seven rounds."

"I really don't want a gun Chloe." Max grimaced, "They make me really uncomfortable."

"You will need it." Chloe put her hand on Max's should and smiled softly, "That green circle means that the safety is on. As long as the safety is on it won't fire. Once we are far away from anyone I will set up a shooting range we can do some shooting practice."

"I don't have any choice do I." Max took a deep breath and put the gun back into its holster before hooking it to her belt. "Are guns really that good though? You saw how the munchers reacted to the sound of a gunshot back in Bear Bridge."

Chloe nodded, "Guns will have to be a last resort for when the shit really hits the fan and we are in hella deep, but you still need to learn to shoot one."

Max climbed in the passenger side as Chloe climbed in the driver's side, "Hopefully we can get to Arcadia Bay without that ever happening."

Chloe nodded and popped in a fresh mix tape as they pulled away from the church, "I have a feeling that as long as you and I are together we will be able to get through anything."

"You might be right." Max nodded and yawned, "I think we were fated to meet one another. Like it was meant to happen."

"I think you might be right." Chloe quickly pulled a blanket from the backseat and covered up Max as she drifted off to sleep. "Now sleep tight and when you wake up I'll teach you how to drive."

"Alright."

Chloe rolled down the window and lit up as soon as she was sure Max was asleep and turned down the radio so the song was more of a dull whisper to the sound of the car speeding down the highway. It had been a rough two days and she really just wanted to let it all go but for now all she could do was take the edge off. She flicked the blunt and sighed as she leaned on the door. There was almost no vehicles anymore or munchers thankfully, but after an hour driving the car started to make a fresh noise and she realized that the gas tank was almost empty. With all that had happened she had forgotten about gas. Luck was on their side though and a turn off for a truck stop meant to service semi trucks came up before the tank burned itself down to fumes.

"Max Voltage. Max Voltage." Chloe chuckled as she shook Max awake. "We are making a pit stop for some gas and I will need you to watch my back."

Max yawned and stretched as she shook out the kinks that came from sleeping in the front seat before saying, "How long have I been out?"

"Only about a half an hour." Chloe pulled into a truck stop. "We don't have much longer to go before we reach Arcadia Bay, but I don't want to take the risk and end up walking the rest of the way."

Max looked out her window at all the abandoned RVs and Semi trucks and said, "This place gives me the heebie jeebies."

"Heebie jeebies?" Chloe laughed, "I don't think anyone has said that since the seventies, but yeah this place does have a bad vibe about it. I doubt that any of pumps still have gas but there might be some cars around here that we can siphon from."

"Do you know how to do that?"

"You get a hose, stick it into the gas tank and suck until the gas flows out." Chloe shivered, "It is nasty as hell so hopefully we get lucky and there is still gas in the pumps."

Max stepped out of the car after Chloe turned off the engine and tried the first of the pumps, and said, "No luck. It needs power to pump."

"Of course it does." Chloe sighed, "And motioned toward the convenience store. “Let’s see if we can turn them back on."

Max nodded and followed Chloe up to the front door where they stopped. Inside there were several munchers just standing around like creepy, fly covered statues? She took a step back and said, "What do we do?"

"Fighting them amongst those shelves would be risky so we should try to lure them out here without attracting any other munchers that might be hiding where we can't see them." Chloe slowly opened the door and propped in place with a brick before tapping the bell hanging from the handle with her bat to no avail. "We need something louder."

Max nodded and picked up a glass coke bottle. She looked to the back of the store and through the bottle with all her might but it only went a few feet before shattering on the floor. It was an embarrassing moment for her but it did its job. The two closest munchers came to investigate and with a few more prods of the bell they staggered outside where Chloe deftly handled them with her bat.

"That leaves four more, and I think one of them is trapped behind the counter." Max picked up a rock and used to knock over a keychain display luring one more into the trap. "The one behind the counter is definitely stuck."

"That makes this easy then." Chloe slipped inside and made her way around to the back of the store to take care of the one near the beer before moving on to the one standing next to a video poker machine. "Come on in Max."

Max nodded and backed away from the counter as the muncher behind it flailed weakly to try and get her. She waited for Chloe to kill the muncher and said, "I am sorry. I am not much use am I?"

"You are a lot of help." Chloe picked up a hatchet from the floor and wiped it off. "Without you I would have ended up like whoever this used to belong to."

"That is a gruesome image." Max took the hatchet from Chloe and started to load up a shopping bag with chips and jerky. "This place is a gold mine."

"Remember we are here for gas." Chloe picked up a long piece of hose and a gas canister. "I think our idea to turn the pumps on is a bust so it is time for plan B."

Max nodded, "So where do we look first?"

"I think I saw some cars by the garage as we were pulling in."

Max followed Chloe and tried to be as tough as Chloe when they found two more munchers, but when the one she was supposed to kill turned to her she saw Warren instead of a guy with half of his face eaten and would have died if not for Chloe. She staggered back and sat down as she tried to calm herself.

"I'm sorry." Max took a deep breath. "I froze. I saw that Warren guy and..."

"It’s okay Max." Chloe gave Max a quick hug, "Also we don't have to siphon gas. I found a full canister in the back. We can move on now."

"Thank the heavens." Max stood and was about to head back to the car when a strange looking RV pulled up. "Do you think they are friendly?"

"That shitty RV looks like a chemlab on wheels so I doubt it." Chloe picked up the canister of gas. "Let's make a run for the car and try to get out of here before they see us."

Max jumped up as a dog started to bark loudly and saw a ragged looking man in his twenties come out of the RV with a dog on a chain leash, "Shit, I think the dog smells us."

Chloe nodded and took Max's hand into hers as she started to run, but a second guy came around the front of the RV and fired his gun into the air as he said, "Well look at what we got here. A punk wannabee and a hipster chick. You may not know this but this is my territory and I don't take stealing very well. Frank put that mutt away and get over here."

"Yes, Damon." Frank put the dog back into the RV and grabbed Chloe roughly. "What do you want to do with them?"

"We first-" Damon paused and turned to Max as she pulled out her gun, "Aw...how cute the hipster chick has a toy pistol. I was going to start with your friend but now I am going to start with you and make your friend watch."

"Let her go or I will shoot." Max raised up the gun and tried to get her hands to stop shaking, "I mean it. Let her go or else."

"Bitch please you don't even know how to use that." Damon started toward Max. "Now put it down before I lose my patience."

Max took a step back when Damon pulled out a massive knife and felt every muscle in her body tense up before she finally closed her eyes and fired. The shot echoed throughout the entire truck stop and afterwards all Max could hear was a ringing in her ears and she was too frightened to open her eyes until she felt Chloe grab her.

Damon was on the ground, bleeding from a gut wound, and Frank was unconscious. Chloe kept pulling her until they reached the car and once they were on the road again with the still full canister of gas sitting on Max's lap Chloe said, "That shit was crazy Max."

"I shot that guy." Max shoved the gas canister to the floor and pulled her legs up to her chest. "I shot that guy. Oh god."

Chloe grimaced as Max vomited out the window. "Whoa easy there. Those dudes were seriously bad news and you showed them that you aren't just some hipster chick. You proved that when it comes down to it you are a survivor."

"They were going to..."

"Don't think about that." Chloe pulled over and picked up the gas canister. "Don't you ever think about that."

Max pulled out her gun and clicked the safety back on before tossing it into the glove box. She looked out the window and took in the beautiful view to try and bury the memory of what just happened. It was the way of the world now she knew that, but she wasn't ready to let go of the old world yet. She couldn't be like Chloe and just shake everything off. She paused at that thought and looked at Chloe as she got back into the car. Was that true? Was Chloe really able to shake everything off or was that just a mask?

"Chloe...Do you want to tell me anything?" Max fidgeted, "I know this has to be just as hard on you."

"I want to talk, but first we have to get to Arcadia Bay." Chloe hit play on her mix tape as she pulled back onto the road. "When we get there we can both have a mutual breakdown and gorge ourselves on that junk food you gathered for us."

"That sounds like a solid plan." Max smiled weakly, "I think I could use a good junk food and cry."


	3. Chapter 3

When they finally saw the lighthouse Chloe hit the gas and floored it. She burned through the last stretch of road and only stopped because there was a bunch of people working on digging a trench and turning the railroad into a wall. Two police officers ordered them out of their car and said, "Go back the way you came. Mr. Prescott gave us orders to not let anyone in."

"I am not going anywhere." Chloe crossed her arms, "And I don't give a shit about what that rich prick told you."

"What is going on here?"

Chloe froze as a stern looking man with a crew cut walked up and took ahold of Max's hand as she said, "Well if it isn't the step-douche. I guess you found some other people to boss around like your little soldiers."

David paused for a moment before saying, ""Chloe?", He rushed forward to try to hug Chloe, but she took another step back, "Sorry, I should have known not to try that, but your mother has been so worried about you. She has been since you took off."

"I know..." Chloe squeezed Max's hand tighter, "That is one reason I came back. But I still don't want anything to do with you."

"I don't blame you." David took a step back, "I was an awful man back then. I drank too much, and I deflected all of my mistakes on you when I shouldn't have. I am not that man anymore. Your mother made me get help and they helped me figure out how to let my past go."

Chloe let go of Max's hand and rubbed her cheek as if she was remembering something and David flinched as if he was remembering the same thing, "I don't know if I can forgive you."

"And I don't blame you." David sighed, "So who is your friend."

"Oh shit sorry." Chloe looked at Max. "This is Max, Max Caulfield. We met a day ago and as you can tell she is very polite, and very quiet. She likes to stay unnoticed until a person needs her help. She is unstoppable when that happens."

David held out his hand and said, "It is nice to meet you Ms. Caulfield. You have a weariness in your eyes. What is going on out there?"

"People trying to survive, and assholes being assholes." Chloe pulled Max close, "Can you take us to my mom?"

"We have to first have to get you examined by Ms. Grant." David tried to smile, "She is downtown at the old diner. We decided to turn it into a clinic until we can get the hospital cleared out. Go get your car and I'll show you the way."

"I know the way, but thanks anyways." Chloe led Max back to the car, "Damn I kind feel like a bitch now. I didn't think that asshole could change."

"I think it is encouraging." Max looked out the window at Arcadia Bay and said, "Its weird, but it is almost as if the lighthouse has power over this town. Every where you look you can still see it. If not the lighthouse itself then you will see pictures of it. Its not frightening though...no it's actually quite calming."

"Yeah." Chloe nodded and pulled into the Two Whales parking lot. "Back before I ran away to Seattle I used to hide out up there. The old lighthouse keeper's house is small, drafty, and leaks like a colander when it rains but it still felt more like home to me than my actual home."

"It sounds like it just needs a little work." Max smiled, "A tarp or too over over the old roof, some plastic on the windows, and lots of caulk if we can find it."

"Are you saying what I think you are saying?"

"If you want to I'd love to live with you at the lighthouse." Max smiled and opened her door. "There is a nice little forest below it and the view from that cliff has to be amazing. I could get lots of amazing shots up there."

"Do you have any idea how amazing you are?" Chloe got out of the car, "Will you show me those photographs?"

"I have a feeling you will be the star of several of them."

"Oh that sounds very naughty." Chloe pulled Max into her arms when Max started to blush, "I am only joking Max."

"Oh." Max let out a sigh of relief and opened the door for Chloe, "You got me for a moment."

"From that blush I wonder how much of me you imagined." Chloe laughed and waved at Ms. Grant. "How are you doing? It has been what three years?"

"And I see you haven't changed at all." Ms Grant sighed, "It is nice to see again though Chloe. Can you and your friend please remove your jackets?"

"I'm Max Caulfield." Max sat down at the counter and took off her jacket, "So what was Chloe like in school?"

"An absolute headache." Ms. Grant laughed, "She barely paid attention in class when she did come and often sought out trouble just to get a rise from Principal Welles and her step dad."

"I guess he got called in a lot?"

"No he was the security guard." Ms. Grant looked at Chloe, "And to be honest I understand why she acted out. Mr. Madsen stalked her and constantly singled her out for drug searches. I often complained about him over stepping the duties of his office but my complaints fell on deaf ears."

"Well I appreciate you trying." Chloe took off her jacket and sat down next to Max. "It all worked out for me though. I learned out to cook like my mom at a diner, learned how to fix up engines, learned how to paint better graffiti from a girlfriend, and in general learned how to take care of myself."

"Well that's-"

A blonde woman burst into the diner and pulled off the stool and into a tight hug as she said, "David told me you had come home but I didn't believe him. Oh my god Chloe you look so grown up."

"Mrs. Madsen, please refrain from touching the patients until I have finished my exam." Ms. Grant let out a sigh, "I know that you haven't seen your daughter in a while but this reunion can wait until I know for certain that she poses no risk to our community."

"So you are Chloe's mom?" Max smiled and held out her hand, "It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Madsen."

"Please call me Joyce, and it is very nice to meet you as well." Joyce let go of Chloe and sat down in the closest booth. "I figured Chloe would come home one day with a girl on her arm, and I am glad she has found someone as polite and well rounded as you."

"Uh...we aren't together together." Max smiled and felt her cheeks heat up. "We are still at the stage where we are trying to figure things out."

"Max you just asked me if you could live with me." Chloe winced as Ms. Grant took some of her blood. "And you even shot a guy to protect me. I'd say we are bonded for life."

"Please don't bring that up." Max took a deep breath as the image came to mind and shook it off. "But yeah there is something there I just want to explore it more before I can say for certain. Everything is just so chaotic right now."

"Yeah that is true." Chloe winced again as Ms. Grant took more blood. "We are definitely going to need to have a movie night once we get set up and just vent all of our issues."

"Okay Max it is your turn." Ms Grant motioned for Chloe to stand, "And remember there is no need to be nervous."

"Sorry , I just have a thing about needles." Max smiled, "And I am also trying to figure out why they have a science teacher acting as their doctor instead of an actual doctor."

"Well I am not the only doctor." Ms. Grant smiled, "We also have a veterinarian. If you must know why we don't have a regular doctor it is because of what happened at the hospital. Someone chained all the doors shut and set the place on fire from within. Tragedies like that though can break a community but it has only made us stronger."

Max flinched when she remembered her parents had gone to a hospital and said, "We had to leave Seattle without looking for my parents. I left a note telling them where to find me but they left to take a neighbor to the hospital and I think they might be dead."

"You don't know that Max." Chloe piped in, "I told you the police were doing their best to quarantine people and that your parents may have just gotten stuck. Give them a few more days and I bet they will show up."

"Chloe's right Max." Joyce took her daughter's hand. "You should never give up. A person might just surprise you and show out of the blue one day."

"Ow!" Max exclaimed as Ms. Grant took her blood, "Sorry.. I told you I am not good with needles."

"Well you are being very tough." Ms. Grant took the last of the blood samples. "Now I have to ask you both some very basic questions."

Max moved over to Chloe and said, "So what is the first question?"

"How many of the inflicted have you both killed?"

"I think I have killed about seven or eight." Chloe counted with her fingers, "But Max has only killed two."

"And how many people have you killed?"

"None." Chloe looked at Max. "We had an altercation as you know but both of those assholes were still alive when we left."

"Have either of you been scratched, bitten, or come in contact with infected blood?"

"No, we are careful." Chloe looked at Max. "We plan before we go against any munchers. Although luckily we haven't run into that many. It will get worse out there as more munchers wander into the wild looking for prey but we got out just in time."

"So what can you bring to our community?"

"Max is a photographer."

"And you are a survivor." Max cut Chloe off, "She was at a police station when all this started and got out unharmed. She understands how munchers behave and how to use that to her advantage. She is brilliant."

Chloe pulled Max close and said, "Being extraordinarily lucky doesn't count as a skill Max."

"It does in your case." Max laughed as Chloe tried to tickle her and said, "Alright. Alright I give."

"Well I think we are done here." Ms. Grant smiled. "You can go ahead and take them home Mrs. Madsen."

"Excellent," Joyce stood, "I bet you both are starving. How about I make your favorite breakfast for dinner Chloe?"

"That sounds great." Chloe smiled, "You know I am almost as good of a cook as you now. Worked at a little place called Hell's Griddle before it went out of business. I can sling cayenne sriracha hash browns that will make you cry, give you heart burn with my fiery fried eggs, and make you beg for death with my ghost pepper and jalapeno bacon omelet."

"I can see why they went out of business." Joyce laughed, "But if you want cook those fried eggs for me I'd love to try them."

"A chance to impress my mom?" Chloe smiled and stepped outside, "Max rearrange the back seat so that my mom can ride with us."

"I drove David's car." Joyce pointed to a cherry red convertible. "He says its mine, but he drives it more than I do."

Chloe whistled, "Okay so the step has some taste, but that is the only compliment I will give him."

"He is different now." Joyce shook her head and sighed, "I gave him an ultimatum after you ran away and he proved that he really did care for us." 

"I can tell, but I am not ready to accept it yet." Chloe sighed, "Besides it shouldn't have taken me running away to wake you up."

"I know, but I was so desperate after you dad died." Joyce hugged Chloe again, "I became blind to everything except for my own desires."

"Ewww..." Chloe shivered, "Please never say the word desires ever again."

"Fine, but do you accept my apology?"

"Forgive and forget right?" Chloe tossed Max the keys, "And I promised you driving lessons. So this time you get in on the driver's side."

"Are you serious?" Max looked at the keys, "Do you want to get into a wreck that badly?"

"We will take it slow."


	4. Chapter 4

Max picked up an old Pepsi sign that had been shot up and tossed it into the wagon before moving on to a stack of crushed cars to see if there was any usable license plates. After a few minutes she turned back to see the sun setting behind the skeleton of an antique bus and quickly pulled out her camera to take a couple shots as Chloe came back from the boat graveyard with an old pirate flag tied around her neck.

"What are you doing?"

"I am Captain Price," Chloe saluted, "Ruler of the Bay of Arcadia, and slayer of the foul undead armies."

"And who am I?"

"The charmingly shy Max Caulfield," Chloe pulled Max into a loose hug, "Artist and Cartographer who I stole."

Max laughed so hard it nearly drowned out the sound of falling metal coming from the other side of the junkyard, but when they heard it they both froze. Max reached down and wrapped her hand around the hatchet hanging from her belt and said, "It can't be can it?"

"I don't know Max." Chloe pulled the pirate flag off and walked over to the car to retrieve her bat from the front seat. "But we have to find out. This junkyard may be outside of the trench they are digging but if munchers over run it none of our defenses will matter."

Max nodded and followed Chloe as they made their way to the communal dumping grounds and took cover next to Chloe behind a stack of washers when they realized the noise came from an angry teenage boy who was beating on some munchers he had chained to old steel posts. She shook her head and whispered, "What is he doing?"

"That is Nathan Prescott." Chloe whispered back, "And it seems he has found himself a new hobby."

Max almost vomited when Nathan gutted one of the female munchers and felt her skin crawl when he took out a camera to take photographs of it. "He is sick."

"We have to put an end to this." Chloe stepped out and yelled, "Well hello Nathan! Remember me?"

Nathan turned and raised the bloody knife as he dropped his camera, "This is not for you bitch."

"So you do remember me?" Chloe smirked and knocked away a tin can, "Or is bitch what you call all of the girls you meet?"

"Why should I know who you are?" Nathan looked at Max as she stepped out, "So there is two of you clit lickers out here. Is that how you survived? Huh? Can’t say anything bitch?”

Max took a deep breath and walked over to Nathan calmly before smashing her fist into his face. "Normally I don't like hurting anyone, but that felt really good."

Chloe broke out laughing and said, "Oh shit, Max Rage dealing out street justice."

Nathan wiped the blood off his nose and said, "You have no idea what you have just done. My father rules this town. I'll have you kicked out. Do you hear me? I will have you kicked out!"

Chloe walked around the ring and killed the munchers Nathan had been torturing before turning her attention back to him and kicked him back to the ground before pressing him into the mud with her bat, "Your dad...no your family is nothing now. Oh sure you probably did have an iron grasp on this town before the fall, but now your money is worthless and your attempts to threaten us laughable."

Max took Chloe's hand as she walked away and said, "Should we just leave him?"

"He can't do anything." Chloe wiped her bat off before tossing it into the backseat. "You punching him was enough to crack his glass ego and it will be awhile for him to get over that."

Max loaded up the pieces they had gathered and climbed in the driver's side. "I can't believe anyone would do what he was doing to those munchers."

"Nathan didn't remember me, but I remember him from back before I left." Chloe backed out of the junkyard. "He was a drugged up punk who was lost and confused. We didn't hang out, not really, but I understood him. We both were both trapped by abusive assholes and we both needed help."

"Only you helped yourself by escaping."

"And he didn't." Chloe shook her head, "What happened to him though is no excuse for whatever the hell he was doing back there though. He has completely lost it."

"We need to tell someone." Max fidgeted, "We need to tell David before Nathan gathers more munchers."

"Or does something even worse."

\------

Chloe pulled up to her parents’ house and waved at David who was working on another old car as she stepped out. "Would love to talk shop about that beauty but I need to tell you something?"

"You finally going to admit that the lighthouse is a terrible idea for a home?" David wiped the grease off his hands. "Can you hand me that socket wrench?"

Chloe handed David the socket wrench and said, "No I need to tell you about Nathan Prescott. We ran into down at the junkyard while gathering up some pieces for our lovely home."

"What do you mean?" David stood, "What has he done?"

"He had a bunch of munchers chained to posts and was cutting them up so he could photograph them." Max walked around the car. "And I may have broken his nose."

David looked at Max and then to Chloe before saying, "She punched him?"

"She became one with her inner warrior queen."

"Seriously? She is as timid as a field mouse." David chuckled, "Sorry, but it is hard to see. Let's steer the conversation back though. Nathan was cutting up munchers?"

"It was some real sick shit." Chloe crossed her arms, "I killed his collection, but I have a bad feeling that he will be trying to find more."

David shook his head, "That boy has never been right, but I wish you hadn't done that. His father is not a man you want to mess with."

"The Prescotts don't scare me." Chloe looked into the engine, "And I figured you would care seeing how Nathan is putting the whole town in danger with his hobby."

"I wish I had the ability to do something but even without his money that rich asshole still has the loyalty of every cop in this town." David turned back to his car, "I'd suggest you go back to the lighthouse and try to avoid more trouble."

"That is it?!" Max shouted but quickly took a deep breath to calm herself, "We came to you because we thought we could rely on you, but at least now we know next time we will just have to rely on ourselves. Come on Chloe let's get home and clean up those pieces we gathered."

"My Max is anything but a field mouse." Chloe looked at Max as she got back into their car. "She is stronger than even she knows."

"I'll talk to Mr. Prescott." David sighed, "It probably won't do anything but she is right. I should try to do something."

Chloe nodded and got back into the car. She looked at Max who was still fidgeting and said, “You alright Max?

“No!” Max took a deep breath, “Listen Chloe I love you and I love this town, but there is something seriously wrong here. Why I am the only one who sees that?”

“I see it too Max, but I don’t think that is the reason you are so angry.” Chloe pulled out, “What is really on your mind?”

“I don’t know.” Max sighed, “I have been having trouble sleeping lately and I feel like I am changing. I don’t even know why I punched Nathan. What he said didn’t really make me angry. I just wanted to do it.”

“You are right Max.” Chloe pulled the car into the Two Whales’ parking lot, “You are changing, but that is not a bad thing. You are getting rid of everything that held you back before. Your fears, your worries, and you are getting stronger.”

“Am I?” Max shook her head, “I need to be alone for a little while.”

“And I will give you some space.” Chloe leaned over and gave Max a kiss on the cheek. “You know where to find me if you need me.”

“Thank you.”

\------

Max sat down on the bench to watch the lights fade away in Arcadia Bay and smiled when Chloe sat down beside her. She let their fingers dance for a moment before talking a hold of Chloe's hand and said, "I guess I have been out here for a while?”

“Only three hours.”

“Thanks again for giving me space.” Max looked at Chloe and kissed her, “You are the best thing to ever happen to me. It is just a shame that we couldn’t have met before it all feel apart.”

“That would have been interesting.” Chloe looked up at the stars. “Do you think we would have still felt what we do now?”

“You terrified me when we first met.” Max laughed, “Then I realized you were just a tough talking goofball and decided that you knew that I should trust you.”

“I thought you looked like a kitten who got left out in the rain.” Chloe smirked, “Terrified, shaking, and absolutely adorable. If it wouldn’t have been weird I would have hugged you and rubbed your head right then.”

“I bet I did.” Max shook her head. “After that incident in the park I just ran blindly across the city with barely any idea of what I was doing.”

“Do you know what we need?” Chloe stood, “We need beer. I got some in the car. It’s going to be warm, and nasty but it will take the edge off.”

“You know what I will take you up on that.” Max nodded, “My first beer with my girlfriend.”

“Be back in a-“

Max froze as a gunshot tore apart the silence. She jumped up in time to see Chloe stagger back with her hand pressed to her side as her shirt as a dark red stain spread across it, and felt the world fall away as Chloe fell to the ground, her eyes locked open by fear.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another short one, but they should get longer after this as I change up the pace and bring back some other characters.

Max looked at Chloe in the backseat and swore loudly as she slammed her foot on the gas and tore around the corner. She had to keep wiping the tears out of her eyes just to make sure she didn’t wreck and pulled up into Joyce’s yard as she slammed on the breaks. She staggered out of the driver’s seat and dragged Chloe out of the backseat and up the steps to the front door. She was almost done but was able to muster up enough energy to bang on the front door before falling to her knees.

A few moments later David opened the door and a look of horror came across his face as he yelled, “Holy shit! What the fuck happened?!”

“I think…I think…”

David lifted Chloe up in his arms and rushed back inside. He laid her down on the dining table and pressed his head against her chest, “Oh thank god she still has a heartbeat.”

Joyce randown the stairs and nearly fell to get to Chloe when she saw her daughter lying on the table, “Oh sweet Jesus, where is all that blood coming from.”

David tore open Chloe’s shirt and pressed his hand to the bullet wound on her side, “I think I can stop the bleeding but you need to go get Ms. Grant.”

“I-“

“Joyce, go get Ms. Grant!” David took a deep breath and grabbed a towel to press on the wound. His eyes softened and his voice carried a deep sadness as he said, “We don’t have much time.”

Max staggered into the room and took a seat at the table so that she could hold Chloe’s hand. “She is going to fine. She has to be. She has to be.”

David looked at Max and nodded, “Are you hurt as well?”

Max looked down and realized that her clothes were soaked with blood and shook her head. “I…I don’t think I am hurt.”

“Can you at least tell me what happened?”

“I…” Max forced back the tears. “It was Nathan. He...”

\------

Chloe ran to Chloe and pressed her hand to the gunshot as Nathan came out of the trees holding his gun tightly in his hands. He looked more terrified than happy about what he had done at first but then a thin smile stretched across his face and he pointed the gun at Max. His finger twitched against the trigger but the gun misfired giving Max a chance to lunge at him like a wild animal.

She dug her fingers into his face as she knocked him to the ground. He cried out in pain and slammed his fist into her stomach to knock her off of him and then tried to kick her, but she grabbed a hold of his foot and bit down on his calf causing Nathan to scream again.

He stomped on her with his free foot and went for his gun, but before he could another shot rang out and Max looked back to see that Chloe had dragged herself to the bench and got her own gun free of its holster.

Nathan pressed his hand to the growing stain spreading across his chest as he staggered back. A look of horror and regret spread across his face and then moments later fell from the cliff without a word.

Max ran to Chloe and wasn’t sure what to do or what to say as she fumbled nervously trying to stop the bleeding, “I am going to get you help.”

“Max…” Chloe lost consciousness for a second but snapped back she handed Max her gun and said, “Do it. Please I don't want to turn.”

“No!” Max shook her head, and forced Chloe to her feet, “Fuck that shit. You are going to be fine.”

“Max…” Chloe hissed, "Max...

Max let Chloe lean on her as they ran down the trail to the beach and shoved her into the backseat. “Chloe you are going to be fine!”

Chloe reached up with a bloody hand to wipe away the tears streaming down Max's face and fell back into the seat, "Don't let me turn."

"You are going to be fine!"

\-------

David looked at Chloe as her breathing grew stronger and said, “What did Nathan do?”

“He…He shot her.” Max shook her head, “He shot her…”

David moved over to Max. “Where is Nathan now?”

“Dead.” Max shook her head, “It happened so fast. We fought and then Chloe shot him. I…I think he fell off the cliff.”

“Shit.” David nodded, “Go clean yourself up, and see if any of Chloe’s old clothes fit you. Her room is still the way she left it.”

Max nodded and leaned over to give Chloe a kiss before leaving the dining room. Her head was still spinning and she felt sick, but it was over for now. She went upstairs and staggered into the bathroom. She took a quick look at herself in the mirror before covering it with a towel. She looked like a muncher and that is almost how she felt. Her hair was matted, her mouth was encrusted with dried blood, and her clothes were covered in mud and blood.

Not wanting to waste any more time she rushed the shower and was planning on rushing getting some new clothes, but something about Chloe’s old room called to her. The graffiti covered walls and posters, the messy desk, and the bookshelf lined with dust covered science books and snow globes. That was the old, old Chloe probably. Back before her dad died, and from there everything changed as she figured more and more stuff about herself.

Even the clothes stuffed in the dresser showed that change. From cute pink shirts featuring Hotdog Man to black shirts with the logos for heavy rock bands on them. In the end it was the Hotdog Man shirt and a pair of brown jeans that ended up fitting her the best, and she went back downstairs to find that Joyce was able to find Ms. Grant quickly.

David and Joyce were now on the couch holding each other while Ms. Grant worked, and Max decided to join them instead of staying by Chloe. She desperately wanted to hold Chloe’s hand, but knew that she would just get in the way.

Joyce pulled Max into a hug as soon as she sat down and said, “Thank you for being there for Chloe. If she would have died I…” She wiped the tears from her eyes, “Ms. Grant says that the bullet went straight through with no damage. Chloe will be fine now that the bleeding has stopped.”

David stood and said, “I am going out to check the beach for any sign of Nathan. I’ll be back before morning.”

“But he…” Max thought for a moment and nodded, “He is going to come back isn’t he.”

“Most likely if he hit the shallows and wasn’t washed into the deep.” David sighed, “We can’t risk him spreading the infection or getting taken down by someone else. I want to distance you and Chloe from this as much as possible.”

“Thank you.” Max looked over at the table, “What should we do until Chloe wakes up?”

“Rest.” David smiled, “Ms. Grant has this covered so both of you try and get some sleep while I am gone.”

Joyce looked at the garage door as it David walked through it and said, “Well how about some coffee Max?”

“You still have coffee?”

“David always made sure we had more than we ever needed.” Joyce shook her head, “I always thought he was a bit off with his habit of stockpiling everything from spam to toilet paper but we damn lucky he did.”

“A black coffee would be nice.”

“Good you like it strong.” Joyce stood. “We are going to need it to be strong to stay up through the night.”


	6. Chapter 6

Max helped Joyce move Chloe upstairs to her old room and sat down at her desk, "Did Ms. Grant say when she might wake up?"

"No." Joyce shook her head, "Let's go back downstairs and have breakfast. David should be back soon."

"I..."

"I am not taking no for an answer." Joyce crossed her arms, "Now come with me."

Max nodded as Joyce glared at her and followed her downstairs. She stopped at the little doorway to the kitchen and said, "What is the matter?"

"I am just being a worried mother that is all." Joyce leaned on the counter, "I haven't had a chance to get to know you as well as Chloe in the past week and I want to see what kind of person you really are."

"Are you saying that this is my fault?" Max looked at Joyce and let out a sigh of relief when she shook her head, "No of course you're not. I am sorry."

"Relax Maxine."

"Always Max never Maxine." Max walked into the kitchen to help Joyce prepare breakfast. "I really hate Maxine."

"Why?" Joyce pulled a container of powdered eggs down from the cabinet, "It is a pretty name."

"I just don't like it." Max sighed, "It doesn't feel right to me."

"Didn't mean to hit a nerve." Joyce mixed up the eggs with some water and poured it into a pan, "So what were your plans were for after all of this fixes itself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well the world isn't go stay this way." Joyce turned down the heat on the pan and added some chili flakes, "You don't believe that this illness or whatever it is will always be around do you?"

"I guess not." Max got down some plates, "And I suppose I will still be doing what I do now. Capturing the moments of life before they fade as Chloe says."

Joyce scooped the eggs out of the pan and into a bowl, “Can I see some of your pictures?"

"I left my bag up at the lighthouse, but..." Max looked at the door as David came in, "...I will show you later."

David sat down on the couch, and let out a heavy groan. He looked to at Max and Joyce with a heaviness in his eyes and said, "I couldn't find him, and the cops are out looking for him now. I went up to your lighthouse and gathered some of your things. I think it might be best if you two laid low for a little while."

"Why?" Max sat down in the chair across from the couch, "There is no way for them to make the connection can they?"

"I told his father about what you two found at the junkyard. He told me to keep my mouth shut and mind my own business." David shook his head, "Now he won't find anything to connect you to his son, but that doesn't matter to him. He would hurt you just to make a point."

"What should we do?"

"You told me about some survivors up to the north in a church?" David took a plate and scooped some eggs onto it. "I think that we should move you and Chloe up there if they will take you. This should all die down eventually but until it does I want to make sure you two are safe."

"Kate's family will take us in, but Chloe won't be happy about this." Max took a small dab of the eggs, "She was dead set on coming back here. Although the plan was to get on a boat bound for Alaska if anything went wrong."

"Do you know how to pilot a boat?" David laughed, "That is a brilliant plan to be honest and one we all will have to remember but for now you don't need to run that far."

"I'll drive you." Joyce stood, "Sorry Max but I don't trust you to make it that far alone."

"That is fair." Max laughed, "It was a miracle I even made it here last night.

Chloe staggered down the stairs wearing a tank top and pair of cargo pants, and looked around before saying, "What the hell happened? I feel worse than..." She paused and looked at her mom and David, "You two know I was a wild rebel."

"At least this time you got a girl that you can actually rely on." Joyce stood and helped Chloe to the couch, "Do you think you feel well enough to travel?"

"Uh...what is going on here?" Chloe looked at Max, "What did I miss?"

"Your mom is going to drive us up to Saint Catherine's to lay low for a while." Max moved over to Chloe's side and took her hand, "Nathan's dad is looking for him and he knows about us seeing him. He won't figure out what happened but that won't stop him from blaming us."

"Well I have been wanting to see Kate again." Chloe smiled, "We better not tell her too much about the reason for our visit."

"Yeah she might not be able to take it." Max nodded, "She is hella sweet."

"Did you just say hella?" Chloe tried to laugh but winced in pain, "Oh fuck that hurts."

Joyce stood and gathered all of the plates along with the remainder of the eggs, "Go back up stairs and rest up a little more. I'll come get you when it is time for us to leave."

Chloe stood and said, "Wait don't I get any of those eggs? I want some of those."

"You need to rest, but if you are thirsty you can take a bottle of water from the fridge."

"Fine." Chloe hobbled into the kitchen and took two bottles from the fridge before turning back to Max. "Want to come up with me? If I am going to relax I'd rather not do it alone."

"Be up in a few I just got to see what kind of things David grabbed from our place." Max looked at David, "Would it be okay if I went back out there if you missed some things?" 

"I'll go with you if you need to get more."

"Thank you." Max hugged David, "Thank you so much for helping us."

\------

Max looked into the backseat at a sleeping Chloe and then to the woods which were thick with munchers. It was getting worse out there and she was really starting to get worried about the state of the church until she also started to see sharpened wooden spears that had been set up among the trees. "Have you ever seen a muncher?"

"Once." Joyce shook her head. "He was our neighbor. David put him down and told me to barricade the house while he went out to see if he could help other people."

"My first was at a park or at least I hope the guy was." Max sighed, "I saw a guy beat another man to death with a brick. It was right after that I met Chloe and well she saved me."

"From a muncher?"

"No." Max smiled, "She saved me by just being herself."

Joyce looked up at the church as it came into view, at the rod iron fence that they had set up around it, at the brick wall behind that and at the rows of sharpened wooden spears that had been placed near the still open road to hinder vehicles. "This place is a fortress."

"They have certainly done a lot in the last two weeks."

Joyce pulled up and whistled loudly to wake Chloe before saying, "Since you two know these people I'll let you go in first before following."

Chloe sat up with a groan and winced as she rotated her seat, "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours." Max opened her door and quickly opened Chloe's door, "It’s been interesting to hear you mumble in your sleep."

Chloe climbed out of the backseat and looked around at the defenses, "Kate's family has been busy."

"Well that is only partly true." Brooke walked over out wearing a jean outfit that had been reinforced with sheet metal, "With the help of some new additions to this community I have been able to push forward some of my ideas to protect this place."

"You sound very happy." Max walked over and hugged Brooke, "I am glad you are doing well."

Brooke hugged Max back and looked at Chloe, "So how did you get hurt?"

"I was doing some target practice and found out just how bad a ricochet could be." Chloe laughed, "But I am doing much better now."

"That is why you shouldn't even bother with guns." Brooke shook her head, "We still got the ones you got from the pawnshop but now we use bows, and spears more than anything. If you guys want I can give you a tour of some of my department.”

Max nodded and said, “We’d love that actually.”

“Well it’s not in the main church. Not enough space unfortunately but we were able to gets some campers set up in the back where the graveyard used to be.” Brooke motioned for them to follow her down the small gap between the church’s original wall and the new one. “And I have three groups I am in charge of. Security, Herd Migration, and Salvage.”

“I bet these guys don’t like taking orders from you.” Chloe looked around at the people laughing and going on as if the world had already been fixed, “How did you end up in charge anyways?”

“Because I was doing it first and I had the ideas.” Brooke tapped the armor on her sleeve, “Met the first group, Cassidy, Frank, and Emmett, while out testing this design. Took out ten infected without them being able to bite me.”

Max stepped off the path into a small clearing behind the church three large RVs had been parked and had to duck to avoid getting hit by a drone. “What the hell.”

“Sorry.” Brooke picked the drone up as a girl with a shaved head ran over. “This is Cassidy. She helps me herd infected away from the church and plot out where to place our spikes in the forest to break up groups.”

Cassidy nodded as she took the drone from Brooke, “This one is called Mountain King and I am trying to get him back into the air only he seems to prefer the ground.”

“How are we doing with the infected come from Seattle?” Brooke motioned for them to fall her and Cassidy, “Are the numbers still going up?”

“Yes, but thankfully it is still easy to wrangle them into our pins.” Cassidy held open the door of a large black and purple RV. “So are you two Max and Chloe? Brooke says you helped pull her out of Bear Bridge back when it was bad.”

“Back when it was bad?”

“Well we still have work to do but we have reclaimed the high school and the elementary school. St. Catherine’s will always be our base of operations but one day we will have that town as our home.” Cassidy pointed to a large map covered in strings and sticky notes. “We have several dozen security cameras set up in the trees and around the town to help us when we are doing patrols. You see the drones play music and lures the infected into one of several sites to be contained at until we are finished with the area we lured them out of.”

“That is brilliant.” Chloe hissed and leaned on the wall. “Got to stop getting excited.”

“So where is Kate?”

“Oh she is inside either teaching music, or holding another trauma support meeting.” Brooke nodded, “She is the angel that holds this place together.”

“It is so adorable that you got a crush on Kate.” Cassidy sat down and spun her chair around before kicking her boots up. “Television is gone but I still get a daily soap drama.”

“I do not have a crush on Kate!”

“You are blushing.” Max laughed, “Why don’t you just tell her?”

“I do not have a crush on Kate!”

“Then why are you blushing.” Chloe grinned, “Come on Brooke. Kate is sweet, cute, and as innocent as that bunny she keeps as a pet. Just tell her about your feelings.”

“I can’t…at least not yet.” Brooke sighed, “I have more work to do out here. Can you guys find Kate on your own?”

“Can do, General Brooke.” Chloe saluted and leaned on Max as they left the RV, “We should ask Kate about Brooke just to see what kind of reaction we get.”

“You are awful.” Max smiled, “But let’s do it.”

\-----

Chloe and Max waved at Joyce, who was talking with Kate's dad, and cut into the church. After searching for a little bit they found Kate in a large room in the basement hanging drawings on the walls. She had changed a little since they had last met. She was now wearing jeans under her skirt and her hair had been trimmed down revealing more of her face and a long bandage covering most of the right side of her jaw.

Max walked over to her and said, "Hey Kate it’s nice to..."

Kate pulled Max into a tight hug and said, "Oh it is so nice to meet you again. How are things in Arcadia Bay?"

"It is going well." Max smiled, "We are renovating an old lighthouse keeper's cottage and I am working on gathering more photography resources. What happened to your jaw"

"One of my children, her name is Kathleen or Katty." Kate rubbed the bandage, "We found her locked in an attic with her parents clawing at the door. She is still very afraid and slashed out at me with a shiv."

"That poor girl." Max looked at the pictures and pointed to one that was depicting a similar scene to what Kate had described, "Is that hers?"

"Yes." Kate nodded, "Art therapy and music therapy have proven the best way to get people to open up to me."

"Sorry to rewind this conversation, but this girl knows how to make a shiv?" Chloe walked over. "What did she use?"

"A key she sharpened." Kate shook her head, "She is a very clever girl."

"What does she look like?" Chloe crossed her arms, "I want to meet this girl."

"She is sleeping in a broom closet upstairs since she refuse to stay with other kids." Kate crossed her arms. "You are not thinking about talking to her are you?"

"I just want her to teach me how to make a shiv."

'Chloe." Max shook her head as Chloe ran from the room, "She is impossible sometimes."

"Maybe she is just who Katty needs." Kate walked over to the door, "Want to meet some of our newest members?"

"We are planning on staying for a little while so I think that will happen naturally." Max walked over to Kate. "I would like to talk about you and Brooke though."

Kate blushed and rubbed the bandage as she said, "Why? Did she say something?"

"She has feelings for you." Max grinned, "She is just as nervous about them as you are as well so one of you will have to take the first step to admitting them."

"How did you do it with Chloe?"

"We just happened." Max smiled, "It was a mutual trust that became something more. It happened fast but sometimes when you meet the right person that is just how it happens."

"I'll try to talk to her." Kate took a breath, "So why are you and Chloe planning on staying for a while?"

"You have to ask Chloe." Max smiled, "She can explain things better than me."

"You mean she can lie better than you." Kate crossed her arms, "Tell me the truth Max. I can handle it."

"We were attacked by the son of the guy who runs Arcadia Bay and he ended up dead." Max rubbed her arm. "He shot Chloe and she almost died."

"You killed him?" Kate took a deep breath and hugged Max. "I cannot imagine what you are feeling right now."

Max hugged Kate back, "Thank you. It hasn't been easy but I am trying to keep strong for Chloe."

“I will set up a private session for me and you after dinner.” Kate nodded, “That way you can get everything off your chest. I will also bring Alice so you can pet her.”

“That sounds good.” Max nodded, “Chloe might need it more than me though. She is smiling and acting happy but I know this has to be tearing her up on the inside.”

“She might try to avoid it, but I will get her agree to a session as well.”


	7. Chapter 7

Max walked outside and found Chloe having a fake sword fight with a black girl who looked to be almost ten years old in a bright orange hoody. She pulled out her camera and snapped a picture of them before walking over and saying, "Captain Price is under assault I see. Is this a mutiny on board her vessel?"

"No, not a mutiny." Chloe laughed, "Katty is a privateer in league with the crown."

"Oh no." Max laughed, "Our ship is doomed."

Katty stabbed at Chloe and Chloe fell to the ground, "The captain is dead and her treasure is mine!"

Max picked up her the branch that Chloe had dropped and said, "Not so fast. You forgot about me. Her trusted second in command. Her mate for life, Max Caulfield."

"Avenge me Max." Chloe raised up her arm, "Avenge me."

Max broke out into a fit of laughter and Katty poked at her with her stick, "Oh no I have failed you my Captain. She is too good."

Katty laughed and started to run around the perimeter swinging the stick around Chloe sat up as she said, "It wasn't easy for me to get her to come out of the closet but everyone loves to play pirate."

"Is that what worked for you?" Max smirked, "The call of the pirate booty?"

Chloe started to laugh and kept laughing despite having to grab her side from the pain, "Arrrr, I love the booty."

"What are you two talking about?"

Max looked down at Katty and said, "We are just telling bad pirate jokes."

"Why couldn't the kid get into the pirate movie?" Chloe paused and grinned, "Because it was rated Arrrrr."

"You guys are weird." Katty smiled, "I like that. Weird is good."

"Weird is excellent." Chloe nodded, "So have I earned your trust enough to see you shiv collection?"

"I guess but you better not tell anyone." Katty looked around, "They keep taking them from me."

"You did cut open Kate's chin with one of them." Max shook her head, "But we won't say anything."

"I thought she was going to hurt me." Katty kicked at the ground. "I apologized after, and I feel bad about it."

"And she has most definitely forgiven you." Chloe sat down on the steps. "So how about those shivs?"

Katty nodded and reached up her sleeve to pull out a small bundle. Inside was a sharpened toothbrush, a short pointed piece of metal with a duct tape handle, and a thick bundle of wire that had been twisted into a point with a duct tape handle. "They think I make these because of what happened to my parents, but I have always had fun making these things. Had a book on the history of prisons that had lots of pictures about the things people were able to make while behind bars."

"That is an interesting hobby." Chloe nodded, "I know you don't want to talk about it but what about your parents. What were they like?"

“My dad was a prison guard at the county jail.”

“That explains your love of prison history.” Max smiled, “What about your mom?”

“She was cop. She came home one day complaining about a guy she arrested biting her and that night I was awoken by my dad screaming. I ran to their room to see my mom tearing….” Katty pulled her legs up to her chest, “She was tearing apart his stomach. I ran to the attic and locked the door behind me.”

Max and Chloe hugged Katty until she calmed. They decided to take her back inside and let her slip back upstairs to her closet before seeking out Kate again only to find her father instead. He pulled them aside to his office, a room that had once been adorned with religious art now adorned with maps of the area and a wall of photographs.

Kate's dad sat down and looked at the pictures before saying, "Joyce told me everything that happened to you two, and I am conflicted. I know it was self-defense, I just wish it had a different outcome than that troubled boy ending up dead."

"Are you going to ask us to go?" Max rubbed her arm and relaxed when Chloe took a hold of her left hand, "I don't want to go back to Arcadia Bay. Not yet at least."

"No you can stay." Kate's dad nodded, "The main reason I pulled you into my office is because I need your help."

"With what?"

Kate's dad pointed to a map of Merriweather National Park hanging on top of a state map, "There is a community growing out around a fire tower. It is too far away for me to send Brooke and our scouts are busy at the moment with watching Seattle so we don't get overwhelmed by demons. Can you help us?"

"Of course." Chloe nodded, "I am almost back at my full strength and should be fully recovered by the time we get there."

"It should only take you four days." Kate's dad nodded, "We will also give you plenty of supplies to not only use yourself but to give to the people you find if you believe they can be trusted."

"And if they aren't?"

"Don't approach, try to stay unseen, and get back here as quickly as possible." Kate's dad crossed his arms, "If we are correct though these are just people who were out there camping and a bunch of park rangers along with some military deserters. They should be trustworthy."

Max looked at Chloe and then to Kate's dad, "We will do all we can to help you out."

\------

Max stared up at the trees as they rushed pass and imagined herself as the breeze blowing through the branches. She looked over to Chloe who was trying to mess with a blanket in the backseat of the Bronco and shook her head, “So you decided to kidnap Katty?”

“Kidnap Katty?” Chloe pressed her hand to her chest with feigned shock, “What could possibly make you say such an awful thing.”

Max rolled her eyes and pulled the blanket back to reveal a smiling Katty who was trying to keep herself from laughing, “You two are going to be trouble aren’t you.”

“Well I have a logical reason to explain this.” Chloe adjusted the rear view mirror, “The two of us could inspire mistrust in the people we meet. They might believe we are just trying to lower their guard but two people and a kid saying that their group is a good one inspires confidence.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that Kate is going to kill us when we get back.” Max shook her head and was about to go back to looking out the window when Chloe slammed on the brakes causing the seat belt to dig into her shoulder as she shot forward. “Shit, what the hell?”

“The road is out.” Chloe pointed up the way to a bunch of cars, trees, mud, and rocks where covering the blacktop, “Do you have the map?”

“I got it.” Katty hopped up and handed the map to Chloe, “What is your plan Captain Price?”

“Well I was hoping to find another way up to this camp, but there isn’t one.” Chloe scratched at her neck, “We could walk but we still have another twenty miles to go so that is out.”

“I am going to see if there is another car on the other side of that mess.” Max opened her door. “If there is we can just move everything to it and leave this one behind for the trip back.”

Max climbed from the car and jogged down to the wreckage and looked it over for a moment before deciding the best way to try and climb over it. She jumped up to the hood of a crushed car and from there heaved herself up onto a splintered tree trunk wedged between two large boulders. She pressed against the rocks and tried not to look down at the massive drop or at the fact that the shoulder’s railing was the only thing keeping the wreckage from sliding again. After a couple of extremely tense, nerve wracking minutes she could finally see the other side, but as she moved up to another car the muncher buried in the mud filled driver’s seat grabbed her leg and caused her to fall backward.

She smacked into the tree again as she tumbled over the side and by some miracle caught herself on the railing. Her heart was pounding in her chest and fear clawed at the back of her mind, but she conjured an image of Chloe to keep it at bay as she slid slowly forward. The metal creaked and groaned under the new weight, and thankfully she was able to reach the other side before it finally broke free and she was able to grab onto the shoulder to pull herself back up as the wreckage broke free and fell over the side taking a large chunk of the road with it.

Chloe ran through the debris left on the road and knelt down next to Max as she said, "Holy shit are you okay?"

"I..." Max looked down at her arm and saw blood dripping through her fingers and realized that she had a large gash on her arm, "I am good. Cut but not bitten."

Chloe helped Max back to the car and said, "How about the next time we find something like that you don't play Max Croft, Tomb Raider? When I saw you fall I thought...Please never do that again."

"I won't." Max sighed as Chloe pulled the first aid kit, "I failed to think about the cars having people in them."

Chloe carefully cleaned the gash and wrapped it up with some cloth and duct tape. "You might need stitches but that should hold it together." She kissed Max on the cheek, "Now it’s your turn to rest while I get rid of the rest of the debris."

Max nodded and watched Chloe walk up the road as Katty sat down beside her, "Did I worry you as well?"

"No." Katty looked down and her feet. "Okay maybe a little, but that was awesome. Were you scared?"

"I was terrified, but I knew I couldn't let it take over." Max sighed, "I will definitely have a breakdown later when the adrenaline wears off though. Go help Chloe clear the road."

Max watched Katty run off and fell back on the hood of the car. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She chose to imagine the world that was, with her and Chloe on a regular road trip. One day the munchers would be gone, and she hoped that they all lived to see it happen.

\-----

That night they made camp that night next two a wrecked logging truck whose load had spilled out and created a makeshift wall that they finished by pulling the bronco in front. Chloe built a small fire while Max prepared a strange stew of canned carrots and spam. It smelled weird but it would be filling so there was no complaints as it cooked.

As Max dug through the back of the stuff in the bronco to see if they had anything to go with the stew she came across a guitar. It was beat up but still in good enough shape to play so she pulled it out and sat down as she tried to remember the notes to her favorite song. It had been long time since she had played but once she got started it all came back to her.

"Now this is nice."

Max stopped playing to look up at a pale woman perched on top of the fallen logs like a vulture overlooking a fresh kill and motioned for Chloe to do something only to see that Chloe was watching the woman's twin who had slipped into the camp by climbing over the semi's cab.

Chloe clenched her bat tightly in her hand and said, "Listen we don't want any trouble."

"And we don't want to give you any." The woman near Chloe adjusted her Texas flag poncho and sat down as she said, "I am Lori, and my sister's name is Kara. We apologize for scaring you but we have been alone out here for a while and we ran out of supplies."

"Well we got plenty." Max watched Kara hop down. "But you should have come in through the front."

"You are pretty fortified here." Kara served herself some of the stew, "So where are you going?"

"To Merriweather. There is a community up there."

"Really?" Kara looked at Max, "We thought that was just a rumor."

"If you guys weren't heading there then why are you out here?" Chloe looked at Lori, "There is nothing else around here for miles."

"That is why we came." Lori nodded, "No infected to chomp on us during the night and no people to try and rob us. We had a group but the guy in charge started to demand favors of the women in order for them to stay so we cut loose."

Kara nodded, "This spam is not actually not bad in which is funny because I used to hate spam."

Katty moved over to Max and said, "Can you play some more? I liked that song?"

"Sure." Max nodded, "It will help the night pass."

Max played until Katty fell asleep and once she was safely tucked in the backseat of the bronco Chloe added more wood to the fire and said, "Alright we like you guys and I may even decide to trust you but we are going to need to know more about you."

Max nodded and said, "Where are you from?"

"Arkansas." Kara looked at her sister, "We were doing a cross country drive before we went our separate ways next fall. Lori here thought she was too good for the University of Arkansas and got herself into Harvard."

"Not that it matters anymore." Lori shook her head, "I had my entire life planned out in a special binder. Nothing I did was without purpose and now I realized I just wasted all of my opportunities at having a normal life. I should have been more spontaneous and fun like my sister."

"Being a wild party girl was just my way of stepping out of your shadow." Kara smiled and looked at Chloe and Max, "You can only be compared to your twin so many times before you run out fucks to give."

Lori yawned and said, "Do you mind if we go to sleep first? It has been a while since we had a safe place to rest."

"Go ahead." Chloe nodded, "You should get some shut eye as well Max. No need for both of us to be exhausted in the morning."

"I would argue but after what happened today I think I need a good night sleep." Max stood, "Wake in me in two hours so I can take the second shift."

"Will do Max-a-roo."


	8. Chapter 8

Max was the one chosen to drive the next day and for the first couple hours the drive was uneventful, but as they neared the turn off for the park it she had to pull over to avoid spike covered car wrecks that had been placed in the road. "Someone has placed out muncher catchers."

Chloe climbed out of the car and looked over the edge of the road and said, "And for good reason. Take a look at this."

Max climbed out of the car and backed away from the edge of the road in horror when she saw the size of the herd roaming the valley below, "I am glad that we are up here on the mountain and nowhere near that."

"They are heading east so Arcadia Bay and St. Catherine are safe at least." Chloe looked up at the road cutting up into the mountains. "And these people are so isolated they are probably safe as well."

"This walk is going to suck." Max crossed her arms and turned back to the valley to take a picture of the herd. "Brooke will want a picture of this I think."

Chloe nodded and moved back to the bronco. She unfold the map on the hood and shook her head, "We still have a few miles to go. It might end up being dark before we reach Merriweather so let's check off on the supplies we will take."

Lori walked up to Chloe and looked at the map, "We can't leave the bronco here. Not with that herd so close."

"Plus that walk would leave us to tired to fight back if it turns out this place isn't safe." Kara walked over with Katty, "Maybe they have a radio that we can tune into."

"We don't have a radio." Chloe looked at Max, "Do we?"

"Uh...let's check the boxes in the back." Max walked to the back of the bronco and dug through the stuff until she found a military issue walkie-talkie. "Will this work?"

"Yeah it has multiple channels." Kara took the walkie-talkie, "Now we just have to hope that not are these people safe to deal with but that one of them is near by."

Chloe watched Kara climbed to the top of the bronco and walked back over to the overlook with Max, "These two are good additions to our group. Wish they had been with us back in Arcadia Bay."

"We will go back one day." Max sighed, "Hopefully it will also be the day that the people realize that Sean Prescott is a shitty man and a horrid leader."

"I got somebody!" Kara shouted, "His name is Luis and he is bringing down a wagon to help us get the stuff up the mountain."

"Nice work." Max shouted back as she took Chloe's hand, "Things are certainly look up for us."

Chloe kissed Max on the cheek before walking over to the bronco and cursed when she saw movement coming from the west, "Shit we got munchers. They must have broken off the main herd."

Max shook her head and yelled, "Get behind the catchers! We will put down any that get through."

They retreated just as Max said and readied themselves for the worst. Max had her hatchet, Chloe her baseball bat, Lori her two masonery hammers, Kara a cut off sledgehammer, and Katty a survival knife.

The munchers swarmed and pushed against the cars despite the spikes tearing through them but the cars held up creating a wall for them to take out but they seemed to keep coming with no end.

After several minutes of killing not stop they were almost ankle deep in blood and gore, their clothes were horrid canvases, but the munchers did stop. They lost interest in pushing through the bodies and slowly drifted back the way that they had came.

Max wiped some brain matter off her face and backed away from the wall of death, "Lori, Kara....Thank you for standing by us."

"If we hadn't...If we were still alone right now we would be dead." Lori took of her bloodied poncho, "No matter what happens. We are going to see this through to the end."

"Why did they turn back?" Kara looked at the blood drying on her coat and then to the wall, "I think it is the smell. We are covered in their stench and that wall is...Well...is it possible?"

"We will have to ask Brooke." Chloe waved at a guy coming down the the road in an antique horse drawn covered wagon, "Don't shoot. We are still alive."

Luis stopped the horses a few feet from them and covered his mouth as he hopped down from the driver's seat, "God damn you all smell like hot roadkill. How many of those vampires did you all kill?"

"Lots." Kara stepped toward the wall of death, "You wait there and we will get the stuff from the bronco."

"Hurry up." Luis looked around at the munchers in the trees that had yet to start toward them. "It is getting dark and these things get more active after the sun sets."

\-----

Merriweather wasn't just a fire tower. Merriweather was a pioneer town, a near perfect recreation of a walled fort town. A tourist trap to raise more funds for the national park that was now a place more than ready to survive any assault.

Max kept with her people as Luis talked with the men in the guard tower and whispered, "This is not what I expected."

"I bet people hated it when the park built this place before everything fell to pieces." Chloe looked at the gates as two men in ranger uniforms pushed it open and started to walk toward it, "I think I have been to a place like this before. Made candles with this woman that smelled like manure and rotten fruit."

"Sounds fun." Max smiled and jogged up to Luis, "So this community we are working for is trying to build bridges with other places. They want to rebuild a network of communication so that no one has to worry about running out of supplies. The old world might be gone but that doesn't mean we have to turn feral."

"I like that, and those supplies that you brought us will certainly help us." Luis looked at a very pissed off looking woman in camo and shook his head as he whispered, "Shit it is Olivia. She is going to try to cause trouble."

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" Olivia shoved Luis and then sneered at Max and her people, "You can not just be bringing people up here without permission! Jesus fucking Christ look at them! They are probably bitten!"

"We may smell like a muncher, but we aren't one." Chloe crossed her arms, "Hell you would look like us too if you took on a small herd and came out on top."

"Head up the street to the building with the barber sign in the window so that our medic can take a look at you and get you all a change of clothes." Luis smiled and acted as if Olivia wasn't standing next to him, "And afterward come down to the old petting zoo to talk with me about setting up that trade route with your community."

"What the fuck?!" Olivia yelled even louder as if to draw a crowd, "You cannot just trust these people!"

"They brought us medicine and food." Luis shook his head, "Just because your group fell apart doesn't mean every person that you meet will try to hurt you. These people work for a church."

"I just don't want anyone here to get hurt." Olivia's shoulders slumped when she realized her rants were not getting a rise out of anyone. "Why can't you see that?"

"Because mistrust can bring even great pain and hardship." Luis gently placed his hand on Olivia's shoulder, "We needed medicine badly. We may have food and water but the park only ever had a minimal first aid station. These people brought us enough to last us through the winter so instead of immediately hating them let them get cleaned up and try to learn about them."

"Fine." Olivia sighed, "You guys better not prove me right."

Luis watched Olivia walk away and shook his head as he said, "You have to forgive her. She was apart of a group of soldiers in Seattle and when the quarentine fell they left the city with a lot of civilians and very few supplies. Her CO decided that they had to cut the fat and started to execute anyone who was too old or young. She tried to stop him and was locked in a car trunk after he beat her unconscious. We were out scavenging when we found her surrounded by a field of death. Her attempt to stop the carnage led to everyone fighting against it and in the end she was the only survivor."

Max tensed and pulled a picture of her parents out of her bag, "Did you see these people?"

Luis looked at the picture and shook his head, "Your parents? Sorry but we had to get out fast so we had no time to look at the bodies. Olivia would know though."

"I'll ask her." Max put the picture back into her bag, "This is something I have to know."

\------

Max rubbed a baby goats head as it trotted pass her and looked to Luis as two others walked down the trail to the zoo. She looked to Chloe and said, "Other leaders?"

"Cervantes, he is the head of our security, and Sinclair, she is our pharmacist." Luis looked back at the goats, "We will never be able to eat these guy. The milk they provide out weighs any value their meat could have."

Sinclair came over first and shook Max and Chloe's hands before saying, "Thank you both so much for the medicine. I am still trying to adapt my food truck into a home lab so we were running severely low."

Cervantes nodded and looke at Luis with a smile as he signed something.

"Cervantes says he likes the strength of your will. He and his people went down to clear up the road and was very impressed."

Max nodded, "So the deal is set then?"

"It is, but I want to send someone back with you so that your people can see how much we are invested in this plan."

"Send Olivia." Max smiled, "She needs to see that we can be trusted and this is the best way to do that."

"Are you sure Max?" Chloe crossed her arms, "She seems dangerous."

"No. She is just afraid and for good reason." Max started up the path, "So any idea of where she hangs out?"

"By the armory. She has a cot set up in the old woodshed by it."

"And where is the armory?"

"You passed it on the way here. Your girl is at our blacksmith and the armory is behind that."

"So that is where Katty ended up." Chloe jogged up to Max, "Well I am going to join her and see what she is trying to learn."

"Probably how to make a knife to give her shiv crafting skills an even sharper edge."

Max walked with Chloe until they came to the blacksmith and then parted ways with her with a kiss to the cheek. Finding the armory was easier than she expected because as soon as she got close Olivia came storming out of her shed.

"I was just looking for you."

Olivia sneered and crossed her arms, "Why? You already know my opinion."

"The deal has been set and I want you to come back to St. Catherine's with us to see how serious we are about this. I want you to see that we can be trusted."

"Fuck." Olivia uncrossed her arms. "You are serious. Come with me so we can talk about this over drinks."

"I don't really drink." Max crossed her arms, "Two beers and I am wasted."

Olivia laughed and shook her head, "Well you can hold the glass until I need it."

Max followed Olivia into her shed and took a seat on a small stool. She waited for Olivia to pour two shots of moonshine before finally pulling the picture of her parents out of her bag. She wiped the bloody fingerprint off and said, "Do you know these people?"

Olivia took the picture and smiled softly, "I knew them."

"Are they?" Max looked down into the glass, "Are they dead?"

"No." Olivia sighed, "A few days before the quarantine fell our group split into factions. Sergeant Madison wanted to get out of Seattle because it was getting too dangerous. Colonel Braddock told her to get back in line but she told him to shove rank and file up his ass because it didn't matter anymore so he told her group to get out. They tried to get me to go with them up to Canada, but I thought it would be safer to stay...I should have went with them."

Max looked at the shot and sat it aside, "They are my parents. I got separated from them at the start and left Seattle before it got too bad. Didn't want to leave them but I had no choice. If I had stayed I would have died."

"Smart girl." Olivia took Max's shot and downed it, "So you have been with that woman since the start then?"

"Chloe is the reason I am still here."

"No she isn't." Olivia shook her head, "You have a fury inside you. I can see it in your eyes. Nothing gets in your way and if something does you step up and take action."

Max looked at the door as a thin girl about her age stepped up and waved. The girl was dressed almost identically to Olivia but looked down at Max like she believed that she was better than her. "Hi."

"That is Vicky..."

"Victoria. I keep telling you it is Victoria." Victoria shook her head and looked at Max, "And you are the freak that came out of a herd?" 

"I guess you could say that." Max crossed her arms, "You were a rich girl before this before weren't you? And you still think you are better than all of us."

Olivia laughed and poured another shot, "She got you in shot Ms. Chase. I found her hiding out in a mall with her two friends. They had locked themselves inside of a Hot Topic. Now she is trying to be a little soldier girl."

"I am getting to be a great shot." Victoria pulled out her pistol, "I am probably a better shot than you."

"Guns will get you killed." Max shook her head, "The sound draws them in so in the end it won't matter how many bullets you have there will always be more than you can kill."

"Shit." Olivia nodded, "She is right, but...Shit. So you are saying you have never used a gun?"

"Once." Max crossed her arms, "Two guys pinned us in. Started to make threats and I made the choice to shoot one of them. Hit him in the stomach and left him to bleed out."

"Seriously." Victoria holstered her gun. "That is pretty awful."

"And it haunts me." Max pulled out her camera. "I know I had to do it, but now this is the only thing I take shots with now."

"You are a photographer?" Victoria smiled, "I was also a photographer before all this but it seems kind of pointless now."

" We capture the moments of life before they fade." Max took a picture of Victoria and dropped her camera back into her bag, "I was afraid I was going to run out of film but the private school where we are from originally had a photography class. The teacher was thrown in jail before all this happened and the school just boxed up all of his supplies and locked the door to his room. I got more film than I will ever be able to use and a dark room to develop it in. Still prefer this old instant camera though."

"Do you think you could send some of that stuff up my way?" Victoria uncrossed her arms, "Maybe I did give up to quickly."

"Once we got everything in place I'll send you some of it." Max stood so that Victoria could sit down, "And maybe we can share photographs once you get set up."

"Yeah." Victoria nodded, "Maybe what we all need is a bit of normalcy."

Max left Olivia to her drinking and snuck over to the forge where Chloe was watching over Katty. She jumped Chloe and nestled into her back as she said, "Guess what?"

"Olivia said yes?" Chloe turned around and started to dance with her, "Or is it something else."

"My parents are still alive." Max leaned on Chloe's chest. "Olivia knew them. They left before the quarantine fell. She thinks they might be in Canada."

"Are we going to go after them?"

"No." Max fought back the tears, "Knowing that they are alive is enough."

"We can though." Chloe kissed Max, "When we get done with all of this we can go after them."

"And how would we find them? Max shook her head, "All we have to go on is Canada. All I can do is hold on to the fact they are alive and hope that one day they can find me instead."

"Yeah." Chloe nodded, "I was right about them being alive so I'll agree to that as well. One day when you least expect it they will come walking down the highway."

"Yeah that would be nice."


	9. Chapter 9

Two Weeks Later

Max looked at Brooke and then to Chloe as she laid her cards on the table, "Three Kings."

"Shit." Chloe folded, "How the hell are you so good at Poker?"

"I just am." Max smiled and leaned back in her chair, "So are you going to call or fold Brooke?"

"I am going to fold." Brooke smiled, "Kate would...What the hell?"

Max froze at the sudden outburst from Brooke and was about to say something when Brooke rushed pass her to the screens, "What is going on?"

"Someone just hit the gate." Brooke zoomed in on the vehicle. "Shit that car is shot to hell. They might need help."

"We will go with you." Chloe picked up her bat. "It might just be a ruse to get us to open the gates."

"I doubt that." Brooke shook her head, "But it would be smart to have backup just in case."

They walked out to the gate and as it slowly rolled up slipped under it. Chloe paused when she saw the car and ran to the door as panic took hold of her and she yelled, "Shit, this is my mom's car!"

Max ran over as Chloe collapsed and saw Joyce slumped against the wheel. She pulled the door open and pressed her hand against Joyce's neck and let out a sigh of relief when felt a strong heartbeat. "Brooke radio for help. She is still alive."

Chloe looked at her mom as Max helped her up and said, "Sorry...I..."

"It's okay." Max backed away from the car. "She will be okay."

"This was Prescott." Chloe's grief shifted into anger. "I know this was him. I am going to kill him. I have to kill him."

"We will wait for your mom to recover before we do anything." Max took Chloe's clenched fists into her hands, "There may be more going on than we realize. So take a deep breath and let it go."

Chloe nodded and did as Max said, "I got to go clear my head. I'll meet you in the infirmary."

Max watched Chloe walk away as two women rushed out of the gates with a stretcher. She helped them move Joyce over to it and just stayed by the car for a little while trying to figure what she should do and finally decided to go to the infirmary.

The infirmary though turned out to be a terrible idea. She was not allowed in while the surgery was going on and was forced to wait out in the narrow hallway for a doctor to tell her what was going on but no one ever came.

After an hour Chloe came back with her shirt soaked with sweat and her hands bandaged up. She just stood there looking at the door in silence for a few minutes before saying, "I am not used to this. Seeing my mom like that made me think of my dad of what he looked like after the accident."

"I-"

"I never told my mom this but at the hospital when she was talking to the doctors I snuck away to find him." Chloe started to cry, "I knew that he was dead so I found my way down into the morgue. I was surprised to find that the door was unlocked so I figured it was sign. I was supposed to see him, but when I pulled back that sheet to see his burned and mangled corpse I didn't see my dad. I saw a creature that haunts my dreams to this day. Head agape, eyes open in fear, skin scorched black and cracked to reveal the blood beneath where it had burned all the way to the bone."

Max pulled Chloe into a tight hug as she collapsed and they just stayed like that until a doctor finally came out to them. The doctor smiled weakly and said, "Your mother was very lucky. The bullet hit punctured her shoulder but didn't hit the artery. She will be out for some time but she will be fine."

Chloe wiped her eyes and said, "Can I see her?"

"Not at the moment." The doctor shook their head, "But we will send for you once she is stable enough to have visitors."

Max guided Chloe back to the chairs and said, "I know you are going to wait here until you can see her. Do you want me to go get us some coffee?"

"That would be nice." Chloe grinned, "Perhaps the smell of badly brewed coffee will be enough to wake my mom up."

Max kissed Chloe on the forehead and said, "She is going to be okay."

"I know..."Chloe took a deep breath, "I know."

\------

Max looked at Joyce and sat down by her bed. "I am not sure you can hear me, but we need you to wake up. Chloe is in our room now sleeping. She has been up for almost two days straight and finally fell asleep just a few minutes ago. I am really starting to worry about her. She is slipping into herself, into her memories. I don't think she can handle losing you."

Max wiped her eyes, "I am trying to be strong for her, but I don't know what to do."

"Max...?"

"Joyce?" Max dried her eyes, "I...I should go get Chloe."

"No...Not yet." Joyce smiled faintly, "I need to talk to you first."

"If this is about what I was saying..."

"Arcadia is gone. Prescott is dead and someone new has taken over." Joyce winced, "He took David and tried to kill me when I fled. You aren't safe here anymore."

"Who are they?" Max took ahold of Joyce's hand, "We won't run this time. We can't keep running from people who only want to treat this new world as their personal playground."

"This man is dangerous Max." Joyce shook her head, "He knew Arcadia Bay, and He knew Prescott and David. David was the reason he was sent to prison."

"Who is it?"

"Max why are you interrogating my mom?" Chloe walked into the room, "Mom are you okay?"

"His name is Mark Jefferson." Joyce looked at Chloe, "He killed one of his students after....He was in prison, but with all the chaos going on he escaped with a bunch of other prisoners and they control Arcadia now. The place is lost."

"Fuck that." Chloe crossed her arms. "We can't let some sick freaks take our town from us."

"Stay with your mom Chloe." Max walked to door, "I am going to talk to Brooke to see if she can help us."

"Are you saying you want to start a war?"

"Not if we can help it." Max sighed, "There has to be less dangerous ways to save our home, but if war is the only way we will make sure it is a war we can win."

"Damn Max." Chloe stopped Max from walking away, "What is up with this change?"

"I don't want to lose you." Max kissed Chloe, "And that means getting us back home."

"Chloe..." Joyce raised her hand to her daughter, "I need to talk to you."

Max looked at Joyce and walked out of the room. She quietly left the church and made her way to the RVs where she found Cassidy instead of Brooke, "Hey Cass, where is Brooke?"

"With Kate." Cassidy smiled, "They should be either be in the greenhouse or in the music room. I'd say check the music room first."

"Thanks."

Max walked from the RVs and went back into the church with the intent on checking the music room first but before she could head downstairs Lori stopped her, "Hi, what do you need?"

"Have you seen Katty? I was trying to teach her some math and she slipped away from me when I had my back turned."

"Upstairs closet." Max shook her head, "And if you want to teach her remember to work in pirates or weapons. That is the only way you can keep her attention."

"Thanks." Lori smiled, "So what are you doing?"

"Looking for Brooke."

"I saw her heading up to the bell tower with Kate." Kara grinned, "You might not want to disturb them at the moment."

"Dammit." Max sat down. "Joyce woke up and she told us that Arcadia isn't safe anymore. Prescott got his ass killed by a guy named Mark Jefferson and David was taken. It sound seriously messed up."

"Mark Jefferson?" Lori tilted her head, "You mean that rapist teacher?"

"You know who he is?"

"Max it was all over the news for like a month last May." Lori shook her head, "How do you not know about him?"

"I never watched the news, or read the papers." Max smiled, "They were always too depressing for me."

"Well this guy he kidnapped a student from a party after drugging her up and after he got done with her he gave her an overdose." Lori scratched the side of her forehead, "I don't remember the whole story but he got caught by a guy who worked as a security guard at the school when he tried to load the girl's body into his car. The guard almost beat him to death before calling the cops."

"Well that explains why he went after David then." Max crossed her arms, "Screw it I am going to go disturb Kate and Brooke. We can't leave that guy in charge of our home."

\------

Brooke looked at Max and said, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Less now than before." Max sighed, "But I am not going to stop now. What have you found out?"

"There is a lot of armed men walking the streets either forcing people to stay in their homes or forcing them to work on either the wall or the gardens." Brooke opened her laptop to show Max the pictures her drone took, "They have separated all of the kids and locked them in the Blackwell Dormitories in order to keep the adults in line, and they have muncher Sean Prescott chained up in the Two Whales parking lot so they can use him for target practice."

"No sign of David or Mark Jefferson though?"

"I am pretty sure both of them are at Prescott's estate, but I the drone I am using now doesn't have the range to go that far." Brooke crossed her arms, "I do know it is outside of the city's walls and behind its own set of defenses though."

"Then we will have to skip the town for now and go after the head of the snake."

"And how do you escape when Mark's pissed off followers surround the estate after you kill their leader?"

"That is a good point."

"We need to work places at once."

"Lori and Kara can sneak in and free the kids from the school." Max shook her head but that would still draw in the guards...unless we create a massive distraction to draw them to the walls."

"You are talking about making a herd." Brooke shivered, "I know I can do that. The drones we use to move munchers away from our communities can bring them all into mass here, but how will you move through them?"

"During our trip to Merriweather we got pinned by some munchers and well Kara realized something strange." Max looked toward the town, "It is gross as hell but if you cover yourself in their gore the munchers won't attack you."

"We will have to test that and if it works get you jumpsuits so that you don't get sick." Brooke closed her laptop. "If this all goes according to how we think we will be able to retake the town."

"Head back to St. Catherine's." Max looked to the town, "I am going to go see if I can't get a good look at the Prescott Estate." 

"Alone?" Brooke eyes widened with confusion and fear, "Are you trying to get captured?"

"No, but..." Max paused, "If I don't make it back by nightfall go forward with the plan without me. All you need to do is tell Chloe not do anything reckless. I will meet her on the other side of the gate."

"This is dangerous Max, and crazy." Brooke grabbed Max. "Getting yourself captured on purpose? Do you have a death wish?"

"No, but if I do this properly it might help our plan work out the way we want it to." Max smiled, "All you have to do is trust me."

"Fine, but Chloe is going to hate this."

"I know." Max started to walk away, "But she can be mad about it after."

\------

Max walked up to the iron gate to the Prescott Estate and tried to stay calm as she hit the intercom button and said, "Mark Jefferson, I am here to talk to you about David Madsen."

"And who are you?"

"Max Caulfield, I am a photographer." Max swallowed the bile that rose up in her throat, "Like you."

"I'll send one of my men to get you, Max Caulfield."

Max shivered at how Jefferson said her name, but stayed calm as she said, "I will be waiting."

Max kept looking forward as the gate opened and tried not to flinch as the man patted her down even when his hands lingered for too on her chest and legs. She followed him up to the estate and faked a smile when Jefferson opened the doors to greet her. She took a deep breath and said, "Where is David?"

"Upstairs in the sun parlor." Jefferson put his hand on Max's shoulder, "Follow me."

Max stayed two steps behind Jefferson as he walked up the grand staircase to the third floor and into a large room with an ornate fire pit in the center and a glass ceiling. Jefferson walked down to the fire pit and added more wood to it before saying, "It astounds me the kind of waste the rich are capable of. Just look at this place. Over a hundred rooms and they only ever used five at most."

"I am not here to discuss the Prescotts." Max crossed her arms. "Where is David?"

"He will be here in a moment." Jefferson walked over to the bar. "Did you realize that all the men working here with me were once members of the Prescott's staff? I used inmates to take the town but here all I had to do was use how much his own people hated him. Can you imagine being that despised?"

Max watched in horror as the wheeled David in and she saw that he had been tortured and beaten horribly. "What did you do to him?"

"Less than he deserved and..." Jefferson poured himself a scotch and brandy, "More he would have gotten if would have just told me where Nathan Prescott is."

Max ran to David's side and checked for a pulse, "Why do you want Nathan Prescott?"

"That punk ruined my life! It is because of him that ended up in prison!" Jefferson took a sip of his drink to calm himself. "He tried to copy me. Tried to copy my greatness, but he couldn't handle it so I was forced to clean up his mess."

"Your greatness?" Max walked over to Jefferson, "A friend of mine told me of your greatness. How the cops found your little bunker with the binders of victims. You aren't great. You are just delusional. You are just a rapist. A basic rapist. It is why they forgot all about you after only a couple of weeks."

"I am an artist!" Jefferson slammed Max into the wall, "I saw the beauty in those women and I captured it! I am not a..."

Max slammed the shiv she had hidden in her sleeve into Jefferson's eye and kicked her way free of his grasp. "If you want to know what happened to Nathan I will show you!"

Jefferson tore the shiv out of his eye as he charged at Max and slammed her into the bar. He grabbed her by the throat and tried to choke her out but she was able to grab a hold of a bottle of whiskey and she hit him with all of her might. She kept hitting him with the bottle until he collapsed, and then ran back to David.

Max started to work on the bindings on David's wrists and said, "David can you hear me? I need you help me get you out of here."

"Max...?"

"Yes its Max." Max moved on to the bindings on David's legs, "Joyce and Chloe have been worried sick about you."

"Max watch out."

Max turned just as Jefferson charged and clawed at his as he grabbed her. He slammed her into the floor next to the fireplace and went for his gun, but before she could get it out of its holster she pulled a log out of the fire and slammed it into his leg before grabbing the fire poker and impaling him through the stomach with it.

Max took a second to catch her breath before picking up Jefferson's gun and forcing David to his feet, "We..." Max shot a guy as he entered the room. "We have to get out of here."

"They have the keys to the vehicles in the kitchen." David leaned on Max. "I saw them as these people brought me in."

As they left the room Jefferson came after Max again and knocked David to the floor as she slammed into the railing.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Jefferson commanded with pure rage burning in his eyes, "Who the fuck are you?!"

"I am Max Caulfield!" Max slammed her knee into Jefferson's crotch and pulled the fire poker free as he staggered back. "And I am willing to do whatever it takes to make sure my family is safe!"

Jefferson backed up just as Max smashed the fire poker into the side of his head and as he stumbled David threw him over the banister and watched him fall to the hard marble floor below with a deafening thud that echoed through the room.

David then took the gun from Max and shot two guys as they came up the stairs and said, "Fucking evil prick refused to die."

"Are you alright?"

"Better now." David limped to the stairs. "Thank you for coming for me."

"By now the full plan should be in motion and the town should be secure as well."

"Full plan?"

"I'll explain later." Max watched David as he walked over to the Jefferson's corpse and shot him four times in the face. "I think we got him this time."

"I know." David shook his head, "I just needed that."

"What the fuck have you done?!"

Max turned to the front door as a man armed with a rifle walked in and said, "We killed him, but that is the least of your worries at the moment. From the look in your eyes I'd say that there is a herd pounding on the gates as we speak."

"How can you know that?"

"Who do you think called them?" Max raised her hands, "Not only that but I bet if you called for your friends on that radio there won't be any answer."

The guy fumbled with the radio on his shoulder and didn't notice the person coming up behind him until they cracked his head open with a baseball bat.

"Chloe!" Max ran over to her as she pulled down the hood on the poncho, "I am so sorry for you leaving you out of this."

"I understand why." Chloe pulled the gore covered poncho off, "If we had done this any other way David would have been killed before we could rescue him."

"I think that was what I was thinking." Max pulled Chloe into a kiss. "Let's go with that."

Chloe laughed a little and started to follow David, "Brooke was like a mad maestro as she set her drones free to draw in the herd."

"Where is she now?" Max stopped at the doorway to the garage, "We might have to meet up with her once we get out of here."

"She went back to the church, but the plan is for us to meet Kara and Lori at the gate to Arcadia."

"I found us a vehicle." David unlocked the doors to a massive black Humvee, "This beast should be able to punch through the herd with ease."

Max nodded and climbed into the backseat of the Humvee with Chloe's help. She leaned back into the leather seat with a heavy sigh. "Did we really just do that?"

David pulled out of the garage and hit the switch for the gate, "I barely did anything. You are a real soldier Max."

"I don't feel like a soldier." Max fell over with heavy groan, "I feel like I want to vomit. And my chest hurts like hell."

"You might have some bruised ribs from being slammed into the wall, floor, and banister." David shook his head, "I don't even know how you are still walking. That guy was twice your height and you kicked his ass."

"That is Max." Chloe laughed, "She acts timid, but will claw your eyes out in a heartbeat."

"I saw her do that." David shook his head and hit the gas to smash through a large cluster of munchers. "She also had a shiv hidden in her sleeve."

"You took one of Katty's shivs?" Chloe looked back at Max, "She is going to be so pissed at you for that."

"Who is Katty?"

"She is a girl we sort of adopted?" Chloe smiled, "Would you say we adopted her?"

"I guess?" Max sat back up, "She certainly a part of our group...our family. You, me, Katty, Lori, Kara, Joyce, David, Kate, and Brooke."

"And if anyone gets in your way...." David looked in the mirror at Max as she grimaced, "It looks like the herd is clearing up. So your friend Brooke knows how to control munchers?"

"Not really control as much as guide with music." Max rubbed her chest. "Now that Arcadia is going to be stable it can become a part of the network. You are going to see the town grow more than you ever imagined."

"I can't wait to see that."


End file.
